


The Way With Women

by NyxEtoile, OlivesAwl



Series: The Captain America Adventure Hour [3]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Case Fic, F/M, Girl Power, Hollywood, Infertility, Married Couple, Pregnancy, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2018-11-12 17:58:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 53,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11167086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxEtoile/pseuds/NyxEtoile, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlivesAwl/pseuds/OlivesAwl
Summary: "Peggy! What a surprise. How is sunny California? Have you punched Howard yet?""No, though you'll probably want to at some point. How do you feel about coming to California?"She felt her brows arch. "Why?""Because I have a frozen body that froze a lake, in the middle of summer. It also glows in the dark."Normal people didn't say things like that to her. Though, Amanda supposed she'd left normal behind quite a while ago. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well. You have my interest."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We're back! Remember Agent Carter season 2? This is that in this universe. More or less.
> 
> It's written under the assumption the reader has seen the series/season so might be worth a refresh on Wikipedia or something.
> 
> Special thanks to youhavereachedtheendofpie for her German help!

Interrogation was a fine art. And Peggy considered herself a maestro at it. The worst thing in the world was to get interrupted early on, while still trying to build report. A wrong move in the first hour of a session could torpedo the whole thing.

So, of course, that was when Jack Thompson decided to knock on the door and demand her attention.

She went into the hallway to glare at him when he waved her out. He seemed unfazed. "You're done here," he told her.

Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to formulate a response that would not get her immediately fired. "You can't possibly be serious."

He walked away, back towards his office, leaving her no choice but to follow. He was Chief now. He'd been an insufferable co-worker, and was an unbearable boss. After the incident last year with Ivchenko and the vest, Chief Dooley had retired—thanks in part to a "Sorry my stupidity and hoarding almost killed you" payment from Howard Stark. The SSR, in their infinite wisdom, promoted Thompson. Sousa took a post out in California opening the west coast office, probably to get away from Thompson as much as anything. 

Leaving Peggy alone, mostly, to be managed by someone she couldn't stand, who kept himself from being too much of an asshole _only_ out of fear Steve might come in and punch him in the face. Something that was infuriating in and of itself.

Still, she did her best to do her job, even if Thompson did end up taking all or most of the credit. "I've been working on this case for three months," she said when they finally reached his office. "There's no one here who knows as much about it. Therefore, there is no one more qualified to handle the interrogation. What possible reason-"

Thompson turned and smiled. That damn, cocky, know-it-all smile he got when he was deliberately screwing someone over. "You've got a new assignment."

She stared at him. "What new assignment?"

"Sounds like Sousa's got a doozy he's working on in LA." He sank into his chair. "Called and asked me for some back up and you know he has to be hurting if he's asking for help. Told him I'd send my best guy. That is you, isn't it?"

"If I thought you believed that this would be an entirely different conversation."

"There are a lot of different conversations we could have, Mrs. Rogers," he said. He did that—the Mrs—when he wanted to needle her. "You don't have to go to LA."

She crossed her arms. Lord knew he and his supervisors and probably the president himself would love it if she refused this assignment, giving them the perfect excuse to send her home to make babies. "Do you have any idea how long the assignment will last?"

"That's up to Sousa. But I expect it'll be a bit." He looked at his watch. "I'll give you 45 minutes to go ask your husband if you can go, and then I'll need a yes or no."

Steve would forgive her just about anything. "I don't need my husband's permission to do anything, _Chief_. I'll be on a plane first thing tomorrow." She knew it was playing right into his hands but what else was there to do? Not going would be just as much a win for him. At least this way, she kept her job. And it might be nice to see Daniel.

"Might want go pack your bags, then. I'll finish the interrogation."

"Good luck." She turned and couldn't help adding her own dig. "Try not to get hurt."

Peggy brooded her entire subway ride and walk home. She thought about going down to the lab to complain to Amanda, but she didn't want word of the griping to get back to Thompson. Amanda was one of her favorite things about this office, though Peggy secretly wondered how long she'd be there. The SSR—unable to hold a visa/green card over her head now that Amanda too had married an American—had instead offered to expedite her citizenship and give her access to all of the remaining highly classified Project Rebirth files, in return for her continuing her research. She agreed, on the condition that they explore the healing aspects of the serum, and not the build-a-human-weapon angle. Everybody knew, but nobody said, that the government wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. They'd ask for super soldiers, Amanda would refuse, and then she'd take increasingly-lucrative job Howard Stark had been dangling in front of her for months now.

Then Peggy would be alone with all the people she couldn't stand.

When she got home, she could hear Steve's voice, ostensibly on the phone with someone. "Do not put me on hold again—this is long distance." Yes. Phone.

Their house had come a long way from the awful state they'd bought it in. Nearly everything was fixed up now, and she'd even been able to decorate. It was nice, and comfortable, and safe.

From where the phone was in the kitchen, she could hear the irritation in Steve's voice. "No, I already told you, not acceptable. . . Whatever you regret is not my problem, you agreed to certain oversights. . . You can call Mr. Stark if you want to, but he's just going agree with me."

The long distance call must be to Los Angeles, because they were talking about the movie. Howard was funding a Captain America movie, based on a mix of reality and the plot to one of Steve's comic books.

She dropped her bag and coat in the closet and set the mail she'd brought in on the desk in the corner before finding her way to the kitchen. He was pacing as much as the phone cord allowed, annoyance practically coming off him in waves. They were going to be a pleasant couple this evening. She braced a shoulder on the doorjamb to wait for him to finish.

He glanced over at her and raised his hand in greeting, then turned is attention back to the phone. "No. _No_. . . Because you are in California! I refuse to believe you can't find a single God damn Asian person anywhere in the state!" His voice was raised now, which was pretty rare for him. "You send me one more photo of a white kid with squinty eyes and I am getting on an airplane. . .Fine." He slammed the handset down so hard the bottom half of the phone beneath it shattered. Steve sometimes forgot his own strength. You could kill someone with one of those phones.

God knew what Ma Bell was going to bill them for that.

The Steve looked over at her. "How would you feel about taking a vacation to LA?"

And sometimes the world worked out perfectly in her favor. "Whatever you say, darling."

*

Work was rather boring without lunches with Peggy. Amanda liked the men in her lab well enough - there wasn't a lot of turn over in the science labs and they'd all been friends for years at this point. Still, they had trouble turning off work and there was only so many hours she could discuss theorems and experiments and explosives before her eyes crossed. Peggy had always brought the very best gossip and she missed it.

They'd told her she'd get her files soon. She and Thompson had circled each other for a while on the topic, because the most useful of Erskine and Stark's files were highly classified, of the sort a "foreign national" could not get clearance for. Howard, when she called him to complain, told her that was absolute bullshit given the people who worked on the secret-as-it-gets Manhattan Project. A face saving deal had eventually be worked out, but while she waited, she was bored. 

She was measuring viral growth on petri dishes when the lab phone jangled. Doobin picked it up, spoke for a moment, then waved in her direction. “It's for you.”

Frowning, she put down her pen and crossed the lab to the little nook where the phone lived. She couldn't think who on earth would be calling her, other than, perhaps, James. But he had two cabinets to finish this week and was probably elbow deep in sawdust and mitre joints.

After their honeymoon, they had moved into the brownstone Steve and Peggy had bought them as a wedding gift. It had been structurally sound, but long neglected. Fixing it up had occupied James for several months, which had helped him adapt to using his metal hand for carpentry and contractor work. After a couple of modifications and improvements from Stark he was comfortable enough doing work for others. His jobs were usually modest, but steady, and in the slow season he had started building furniture in the workshop in their basement. Amanda made the lion's share of their income, but his tipped them fully into "comfortable" and kept him from feeling useless. It worked.

But it was not James's voice on the other end of the line. "Peggy! What a surprise. How is sunny California? Have you punched Howard yet?"

"No, though you'll probably want to at some point. How do you feel about coming to California?"

She felt her brows arch. "Why?"

"Because I have a frozen body that froze a lake, in the middle of summer. It also glows in the dark."

Normal people didn't say things like that to her. Though, Amanda supposed she'd left normal behind quite a while ago. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well. You have my interest."

"We're stumped. And so is the coroner here. I need someone with more experience with medical weird."

"I need to talk to James," she said. He was quite proficient with the arm, but there were several domestic things she still did for him. She doubted he'd be comfortable being left alone for however long Peggy needed her.

"Please bring him. Someone needs to look after Steve."

Amanda had to laugh at her tone. "Is he driving you mad?"

"He's taking the movie shoot very seriously." 

"Of course he is." She sighed. "I'll let you know when I arrive. You're staying at Howard's?"

"Yes. You are welcome here as well. It could house an army battalion. There's a pool."

"I'll use that to convince James. We'll see you soon."

After they hung up, she told Doobin she was going home for lunch. She'd talk to James first, before she dealt with Thompson. The subway was mostly empty and gave her time to ponder how to discuss it with him.

When she got home she stopped in the kitchen to put together a couple of sandwiches and a couple of Cokes before venturing into the basement. The sound of sawing greeted her halfway down the stairs.

He stopped when she reached the landing. "Hey, honey. Thought I heard you."

"Hello. I made you lunch." She brought the tray over to the little table he kept in the corner for such visits. He was stripped down to his undershirt and she felt a little curl of desire as she watched him walk over to her. Her husband was scrumptious when he was being sweaty and manly.

"Because you are a wonderful wife," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.

She kissed him back a moment. Perhaps if this conversation went well she'd try to coax him upstairs for a long lunch. "Peggy called me," she told him when they parted to sit. "She needs my help."

He looked up with a sandwich halfway to his mouth. "In LA?"

"Yes. Something about a frozen, glow-in-the-dark body. They need my medical expertise."

"Because you are the best doctor in the world." He said it like it was obvious, then resumed eating his sandwich.

She smiled and waited for him to get a couple bites in. "I thought you might like to come with me. We could have a little vacation."

He watched her. "Will you wear a bathing suit at some point?"

"I promise. Howard even has a pool for me to wear it in."

James laughed. "I knew Howard would feature in this somewhere. Did he cause the glowing frozen lady?"

"Not to my knowledge. No, Peggy and Steve are staying at his house while she works her case and Steve, apparently, drives the people making his movie crazy. We've been offered a room as well."

"He does have nice furniture." James cared about the quality of the bed he slept on. "I'm on board."

"Good." That had gone far smoother than she'd feared. "Now I just need to have what is sure to be an irritating conversation with Thompson and arrange our travel."

"I can start packing. As soon as I'm done eating."

She let her gaze roam his bare arm. "You could take a little break between."

His mouth quirked, and then his eyebrow went up. "Ah, so it's _that_ kind of lunch."

She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "If you don't want to. . ."

He put the rest of the sandwich down and stood up. "When in the history of the universe have I ever not wanted to?"

"You could have finished your sandwich," she said, gesturing at the half eaten meal as he tugged her to her feet.

"It'll keep." He scooped her up off her feet, heading for the stairs. "Can't be neglecting my husbandly duties."

It was a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon.

*

"Tell me this is not the most ingenious thing you've ever seen."

Steve looked up from the book he was reading—Howard's collection was impressive—to see Peggy standing in front of him in a girdle and a brassiere, one stocking on one leg. He had no idea what he was supposed to be impressed by, other than the obvious. "No," he said after a moment. "If you want enough blood to get to my brain for guessing, you'll need to put more clothing on."

She rolled her eyes and turned to display the stockinged leg. "Mrs. Jarvis made me a garter that's a gun holster. A real one, too, not a silly derringer. It even assumes I'll be dressed when drawing it."

Steve couldn't stop staring. "I should hope so."

Peggy shook her head at him, twisting to look at the garter herself. "You should have more interest in my self defense."

"You keep bending like that I'm going to forget my own middle name."

She gave him an exasperated look, but sauntered over to his seat. He tossed his book aside just as she braced her hands on the arms of his chair. "Eyes front, soldier," she all but purred.

He pulled her into his lap. "I like this outfit."

Very deliberately, she pressed closer to him. "Yes. I can tell."

He slid his hands up her thighs, one covered and one bare. "Aren't I keeping you from important work?" He gestured to the dress on the bed. "Stalking rich assholes at racetracks or whatever it is you and Jarvis are doing."

She sighed, but didn't climb off him immediately. "I really should go soon."

As if summoned, there was a knock on the door. "Mrs. Rogers?" Jarvis called from the other side. "We have a slight snafu."

Tipping her head back, she groaned. "What is it? And do not open the door if you value your life."

"I live with Mr. Stark. I _never_ open doors unless expressly invited to do so. I have already seen enough that cannot be unseen to last a lifetime."

Peggy made a rather hilarious face. "Good to know. What is is, Mr. Jarvis?"

"Dr. and Mr. Barnes's flight is late. We're going to need to leave for the races before I am able to go get them."

She sighed and tilted her head down to look at Steve. "Do you think you can pick them up?"

He looked at her for a moment, debating in his head. "I could also go with you instead," he said. He'd thought about this since she'd mentioned they had to go chase down Calvin Chadwick. "Your target is running for Senate. He'd probably step over his mother's body for a photo op with me."

Her lips pursed as she turned that over in her head. He could almost see her desire to do everything alone warring with how easy that would make it. "I suppose there is some sense in using you to my own advantage," she said finally, with just a hint of a tease. "If you're sure."

"I find Captain America preferable to Chauffeur." He kissed her, since she hadn't put on her lipstick yet. "And I want to admire you in that dress."

"Sounds like a lovely afternoon." She turned towards the door. "Steve and I will go to the racetrack, Mr. Jarvis. You see to the Barnes's."

There was a pause from in the hallway. Jarvis might be disappointed, but he was so British it was hard to tell. "Very well. Tell me how it goes." 

Peggy shook her head. "Poor Mr. Jarvis. He does enjoy participating in the espionage."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities yet."

"Quite." She kissed him again before climbing off his lap to finish dressing. 

"Suppose I need to go make myself look presentable now, too," he said, standing up. "I hope my suit got hung up."

"I'm sure Mr. Jarvis took excellent care of it." Sure enough, it was hanging in the closet, looking freshly pressed. 

He pulled it out and got himself dressed. Steve didn't have a whole lot of use for politicians. His time as Senator Brandt's dancing monkey had been enough for one lifetime. But politicians still _loved_ him. Some told him he should run for office himself. Some asked him to campaign for them. Some told him war stories, making sure to mention any medals they had, or any battles they were in that were anywhere near the 107th. Mostly they wanted a photo op, as if being seen standing next to him conferred some sort of endorsement, or extra patriotism. "Am I going to need to kiss up to this guy?" he asked Peggy, who was in the bathroom putting on her makeup.

She leaned into the doorway, one eye done. "Not kiss up, per se. I need information from him so I'd prefer not to antagonize him. But I think he had something to do with that poor girl's death, so I'm not inclined to be _nice_."

"I'll paste on my best USO smile and flirt with his wife a little."

"Perfect." She ducked back into the bathroom calling, "I'll make a spy of you yet, darling."

Spy was about the exact opposite of what Steve was good at, but he'd do just about anything for his girl. And he _loved_ watching her work. That was most of the reason he'd volunteered.

She came out a few minutes later, in a dress, looking fantastic, and smiled widely at the sight of him. "You do fill out a suit nicely." She tucked her arm through his. "Shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

Tossing his name around make it painfully easy to get into the VIP area at the racetrack. Peggy hung on his arm and giggled. People had certain ideas about Mrs. Captain America, mostly imagining her as a perky housewife with pearls and a lot of skirt. At the moment, it was useful for her to play into it. 

He enjoyed watching her fawn over Chadwick, who fawned right back. Steve turned on the charm, posed for photos, and managed to peel off his movie-star wife very easily. He'd met Whitney Frost once, while in LA making one of those terrible films during the war. He'd been paraded through a party like a show pony and shook a lot of hands. Now he just had to innocently complain about the casting struggles for the new Captain America movie, and he had her undivided attention.

"Your wife is lovely," she told him, a page from the script everyone who wanted something from him felt compelled to recite. "How long have you been married now?"

"Two years this spring," he told her, watching Peggy out of the corner of his eye. Chadwick's smile was gone, so she'd stopped flirting and started working.

"No little ones yet?" Whitney asked, line two of the script.

"Not yet. Hopefully soon." It was the reply that seemed to provoke the least follow up questions. Though he was in the rare position where he could shoot back, "You?"

Her winning smile faltered ever-so-slightly. If he hadn't been looking he wouldn't have noticed. "No, not yet." She didn't have as much practice saying it, there was a little too much wistfulness to the words. Or maybe she really meant them. 

"You're young," he found himself saying. "I'm sure there's plenty of time. Plenty of time to be an actress, first, too."

The smile brightened now, wide enough it had to be fake. "Of course. And with the campaign heating up it wouldn't be the best time. I'd be of no use to Cal with swollen ankles."

That was a good line. He had to remember to tell that to Peggy. He opened his mouth to say something else empty, but was cut off by Chadwick storming over and taking Whitney by the arm. "Excuse me. We must be going."

Steve inclined his head. "Good luck with the campaign."

Chadwick sent daggers at him before hurrying off with his wife, who looked all but shocked at the treatment. Peggy appeared at Steve's elbow looking grim. "Horrid man."

"Get anything?"

"He was nervous. He'd hiding something more than a dalliance with Ms. Scott."

He tucked her hand into his arm as they made their way out. "Such as killing her?" he murmured.

"Possibly." She blew out a breath. "I'm hoping Amanda will be able to tell us more once she conducts an autopsy. The manner of Ms. Scott's death and her work at Isodyne have to be connected."

"Whitney Frost doesn't like being an actress. Nor does she really want to be a politician's wife."

Peggy looked at him, then back over her shoulder, then back to him again. "You got all that from a few minutes of banal chatter?"

"She asked me if we had children. I asked in return. Seemed to be a sore spot. But it was far more your type of discomfort than mine."

She made a little noise. The children discussion was one they'd been circling for a few months now. He really hadn't intended to poke it right now, but she had asked. All she said was, "Husband cheating, wife unhappy with her career and his. Hate to see a supper at their house."

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

With a sigh, she squeezed his arm. "I know. It's all right."

"I'm tired of answering questions about it, I really am."

"I know," she said softly. "So am I."

He knew she got asked about it a lot, including completely inappropriately by her management at the SSR. She didn't complain to him about it any more, mostly because the topic was a bit of a minefield. He wanted them, she wasn't ready, and the constant attention to the subject had turned it more and more sensitive. Because they were both good at compartmentalization, they'd mostly quarantined it so they didn't fight. "Amanda and Bucky are likely at the mansion by now," he said.

"Yes, I should hope so." She leaned into his side a little. "It will be nice to see them."

*

"The pocket behind the seat is completely full of rubbers."

From the seat in front of him, Jarvis gave a sigh so heavy Bucky could practically feel it. "This is the vehicle Mr. Stark uses for dates."

"With who, his harem? There have got to be fifty of them in here."

Amanda made a choking noise. She was in the front passenger seat. He'd have offered it to her anyway, but she had simply climbed in without waiting. She didn't exactly fly well, and there had been turbulence. "You picked us up in his sex car?"

"It has the largest trunk."

"Okay," Bucky asked. "Why is a man as rich as Howard fucking in the backseat of a car like a rebellious teenager?"

Jarvis sighed again. "Mr. Stark. . . likes to keep his options open."

"Mr. Stark is going to get get _such_ an earful when I see him," Amanda muttered.

"He cited his fear of you when sending me to purchase those," he told her.

"See, 'Manda, he does listen."

She shook her head. "If it doesn't fall off I'm going to cut it off. Just on principle."

After a moment of silence, Jarvis added. "I had the interior _very_ thoroughly cleaned this morning." This prompted Bucky to look down at the leather he was sitting on. He hadn't thought of that.

"We should have taken a cab," Amanda muttered.

"Here we are!" Jarvis said brightly, turning into a gated drive. Howard's Hollywood house was large and opulent, like everything else about the man, surrounded by high walls and palm trees.

Bucky didn't wait for the chauffeur to open the door before climbing out. He did hold the door for his wife, who was still looking rather green, though he was guessing that wasn't entirely about the plane anymore. He reached out to rub her back. "Fresh air," he told her.

She nodded and leaned into him a little, breathing deep. Jarvis came around to retrieve their bags and looked at her in concern. "Is there anything I can get you? A snack, ginger ale? Mr. Stark had me order that black tea you prefer."

That made her smile. "Tea would be lovely, Mr. Jarvis. And perhaps somewhere to relax before Peggy starts demanding my services."

"Captain and Mrs. Rogers are still out. Would you prefer a parlor, a bedroom, or the pool?"

Bucky hid a smile in her hair as she replied, "Bedroom would be fine."

The bedroom was like something out of a Gothic and he saw Amanda shake her head in exasperation before toeing off her shoes and stretching out on the massive Eastlake. "Howard can never do anything by halves."

"There's a portrait of him on the wall there," he said, pointing. "It's watching me."

She had her eyes closed. "Better check and make sure he hasn't installed peep holes."

"That is both deeply disturbing and entirely plausible." He got up to pull the painting off the wall. There was nothing behind it. He flipped it around and set it on the floor, then went back to his wife. "You want to take a nap?"

"I might. Have I mentioned my deep and abiding belief humans are not actually meant to fly?"

"Many, many times." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Rest up, you have to disassemble a dead body this afternoon."

"Mmm. Such fun."

There was a gentle tap on the door, and an accented woman's voice called, "I have tea."

Amanda smiled and opened her eyes. "Anna! Come in and meet my husband."

A pretty woman with strawberry blonde hair peeked around the door. "Hello Doctor. Edwin said you were feeling poorly."

"Flying doesn't agree with me."

"Human beings were not meant to hurtle above the earth in a metal tube," she replied. She set the tea tray down, then turned to Bucky and smiled. "I am Mrs. Jarvis. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Anna helped plan our wedding," Amanda said as he shook Mrs. Jarvis' hand.

He did not say the first thing that came to his head, which was to wonder how Jarvis had snagged such a woman. Instead he went with, "Well, thank you very much. It was perfect."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to be here. We'd come out to get this new house set up for Mr. Stark and I enjoy flying even less than Amanda does. I couldn't do it for just a weekend."

Frankly, there'd been so many people at his wedding the Pope could have been there and he wouldn't have noticed. "Better to meet like this anyway. How do you like California?"

"Oh, I enjoy it. The sun, the people. Edwin is less enthused. He likes it dreary and rainy." She smiled then glanced at Amanda. "He's glad you're visiting. Hollywood brings out the worst in Mr. Stark."

"I am keeping a tally of the right jabs I owe him," Amanda assured her, pouring cream in her tea.

"Well," he said. "I could really use a walk after all that time on the plane." He stood up. "I'll leave you ladies to gossip in German."

" _Danke, Liebling,_ Amanda said, tilting her head up for a kiss before he left.

"I love you," he told her, and then he let himself out into the hall.

Steve and Peggy were pulling up just as he stepped out into the circular drive, so he turned to go meet their car. There was a vague air of tension around them as they climbed out of the car. He wondered if he was going to regret meeting the car when they saw him and both smiled. Those, at least, looked sincere.

"You made it," Peggy said, stepping forward to hug him.

"We did. Amanda is laying down. She did not enjoy the flight." He looked at Steve. "She would like to retroactively re-thank you for insisting on sailing back from Europe, because airplanes are terrible."

Peggy made sympathetic noises as he and Steve greeted each other. "I was hoping she could perform the autopsy today but if she isn't up for it -"

"She said she'd do it. Her curiosity is piqued. Just let her rest a little. Jarvis's wife is plying her with tea."

"I'll go pop my head in, then." She squeezed his arm and slipped past him into the house.

He looked over at Steve. "How was the spying?"

"No answers, just more questions." He sighed a little. "Managed to poke a couple sore spots, which was just what we needed."

"Marriage is full of sore spots." God knew he and Amanda had their own. 

"Yeah. It's just. . . seems like they pop up more than I'd like."

"Have you actually had it out or are you just sniping at the edges of the topic?" Which wasn't like either of them. They were both direct and not particularly passive-aggressive. Bucky imagined their fights could take the roof off, but would be over quickly.

"Having it out didn't do any good because there's no answer and nobody's right and nobody's wrong." Steve shoved his hands in his pockets. "I want to start a family but she's not ready. Since she's the one who would get pregnant and have the babies and probably lose or significantly alter her job, she kind of gets the deciding vote. But that doesn't stop me from wanting them. Or from everyone and their brother asking when we're having kids."

"Hey," he said. "At least you could make it work. I can't actually really support my wife, let alone children." He kicked a rock. "Every marriage has its sore spots."

Steve looked over at him and seemed ready to offer platitudes. The look on Bucky's face apparently changed his mind. "I thought it would be easier," was what he said instead.

"Because your mom was a widow. My parents fought plenty. I think it's normal."

"Yeah." He squinted up at the house. "You and Amanda given any thought to children?"

"We live mostly on her income. The SSR would fire her if she got pregnant. So it's kind of a non-starter right now."

"Right."

Clearly they were in similar boats. They both stood in grim silence for a moment. "I hope I get to punch someone before this mess is over."

"Come with me to the movie set tomorrow. Howard will probably be there."

He raised his brows. "That would present an opportunity." Bucky clapped his shoulder. "Come on. Show me around the mansion."

*

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Peggy asked Amanda as she lead their little group through the morgue hallway. "Dr. Meltzer said he would attempt a preliminary exam so there's no-"

"I'm fine," Amanda said emphatically. "It was just a little air sickness. I assure you, Anna's tea settled the last of it. I have never been one to get sick at the sight of a corpse."

"It is really cold in here," James said, reaching out to touch her arm with his _freezing_ metal hand.

Amanda frowned. "Yes, it is. More than usual for a morgue. I thought he was thawing the body out?"

"He is," Peggy said, pausing to open the door.

"It's a wonder he could cut into the body."

"Hey, the lot of you, wait up," called a congested voice from down the hallway. Peggy sighed. She'd been hoping it would take longer for the desk sergeant to notify Detective Henry. "This is my case, you can wait for me." He looked even sicker and sweatier than he had that morning. "Who are all these people?"

Daniel stepped out to intercept him. "Detective Henry. I told you we were bringing Dr. Barnes in from the New York office to examine the body." He gestured at Amanda. 

"Yeah, but. . ." He broke off, his eyes getting huge. "Are you Captain America?"

She could see Steve sigh, then square his shoulders. He made a little waving motion in their direction, indicating he was going to throw himself on this particular grenade so they could work. He pasted on a smile and held out a hand. "Steve Rogers, nice to meet you."

Peggy gestured at Amanda, who ducked past her into Dr. Meltzer's offices. Bucky and Daniel followed and she brought up the rear, feeling a twinge at abandoning her poor husband.

Dr. Meltzer was standing at the exam table, his back to them, apparently working on Ms. Scott's body. "Have you found anything?" Daniel asked. There was no response and he reached out to tap the doctor's shoulder.

With a crack of ice breaking, the doctor's body fell away from the table, shattering into shards as it struck the floor.

There was a moment of silence, then Amanda said. "Everybody out, nobody touch anything."

Peggy tugged Daniel's arm, pulling him out of the office. Amanda swiftly closed the door behind them. "We need to call the office. I'll need protective gear and some assistants to collect . . . him."

"We can send some of Samberly's people over, they have that kind of gear," Daniel said, just as Det. Henry came bounding over.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Dr. Meltzer froze and shattered," Peggy replied. 

"We need to keep out of the room until we have proper protection," Amanda said. "If the freezing is contagious then I need to identify how."

"I'll get some people down here," Henry declared.

"We'll handle it," Daniel said, and then they were in a full-fledged argument over jurisdiction. 

Peggy left them to it and turned to Amanda. "I made the acquaintance of one the scientists working at Isodyne with Jane Scott. He might have some useful information on this, assuming he's not also frozen by now." 

She nodded. "Let's bring him here, if you think he can be trusted. Theoretical physics is not my forte."

"He built a wine still in his lab as a side project. Seems like our kind of people."

Amanda made her impressed face. "I like him already."

She sent Jarvis to collect Dr. Wilkes while they waited for the team from the SSR to arrive—Det. Henry called his superiors for backup, and they'd backed away from something this weird so fast they'd nearly left tire tracks. Now Henry was sulking at one end of the hall. On the other end was Steve, and a mob of cops who'd now heard he was in the building and come down to shake his hand and tell him war stories.

"People ask me if I'm jealous I'm not that famous," Bucky said from beside her. "No, I am not."

Peggy sighed deeply. "He hates it so much. I don't know why they insist on telling him war stories. He was there. He knows."

"People want to bond. They want to draw similarities. They're not fawning fans, they're fellow soldiers." He fished in his pockets for a pack of gum, popped a piece in his mouth and held it out to her. "The more they talk, the less action they saw."

She took the gum and started chewing angrily. "I should rescue him, shouldn't I?"

"I'll do it, you're working." He glanced back at Amanda. "And God am I glad our plane was late."

"As am I." Had Amanda been doing the exam rather than Meltzer . . . Peggy would never have forgiven herself. 

Bucky went to rescue Steve, the two of them having to go "grab something to eat" to get away from the crowd. Though they probably were hungry, the way their metabolisms ran. Not long after the clean-up finally started, Mr. Jarvis arrived with Dr. Wilkes. He hit it off well with Amanda—but was nowhere near as blasé about strange deaths and shattered bodies as the rest of them were. Peggy sent him to get some air while Amanda frowned over the preliminary autopsy report. 

"Jane Scott was thawed, I think Dr. Metzer re-froze her," Amanda said.

"Sounds logical," Peggy replied.

"So here's the odd thing. Cause of death was exposure to an unknown toxic substance. He thought maybe some kind of radiation. The stabbing was post-mortem."

"A cover-up." She came around to look over her shoulder. "They switched her shoes. That's a detail known only to the actual Lady of the Lake killer." 

"And the people who worked the case." Amanda looked around. "The detective that was here. . . has he had a cold the whole time you've been here?"

Peggy whirled around to find the corner Henry had been glowering in was empty. "Oh _hell_."

Her evening was all downhill from there. They got outside to find Mr. Jarvis bleeding on the curb—and whining like a little girl—Det. Henry having taken Dr. Wilkes. They had to chase them down, which resulted in Henry in a pile of shattered parts, and Amanda shouting at a clueless beat cop in German.

It was very late and they were all tired when they found themselves back at Howard's in the kitchen, raiding the fridge and bar for a late night supper. Amanda sat on the counter, reading the files Dr. Wilkes had managed to smuggle them.

"You're sure those won't make us all freeze to death?" Bucky asked her as he fed her a bit of cheese and salami.

She chewed a moment before answering. "As they are not doused with Ms. Scott's bodily fluids, no. The only risk is that of a paper cut."

"We're never going to know who killed her, are we?"

"I think it sounds more like an opportunist cop looking for attention than a deliberate cover-up," Steve said. "That guy was not the brightest bulb in lamp."

"My money is still on Chadwick," Peggy said. "There is something off about him."

"Her body should be thawed again tomorrow," Amanda said, finally allowing Bucky to take her papers away and eat properly. "It may answer some questions. It's not impossible her death was an accident and Chadwick is only guilty of paying the detective to hide it."

"I don't know how I feel about you dealing with that body," Bucky muttered.

"It will be perfectly safe, with the correct protective gear. Dozens of officers dealt with the body without any harm coming to them, not to mention Peggy and Agent Sousa."

He made a grumbling noise but resumed eating. Beside Peggy, Steve stood up, bending to drop a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm tired, I'm going to head to bed."

Stretching, she popped her last bite of apple in her mouth and stood. "I think I'll join you. Goodnight Amanda, Bucky."

"Pleasant dreams," Amanda said.

"I wasn't fishing," Steve said once they were on the stairs. "I really am tired. The racetrack, the cops—too many people."

"I know darling. But I enjoy getting ready for bed with you." She smiled at him. "Those little rituals of married life."

"We're driving out to the set tomorrow. I have a casting director to yell at." 

"Ah, I shall be sorry to miss that. Though Bucky will be a far more intimidating companion for it."

He opened the door to their room and held it for her. "And I'll be out of your way."

"You weren't in the way," she protested. "You've been extremely helpful. I'm only sorry you've had to deal with so many people. I know you hate the attention."

He shrugged and unbuttoned his shirt. "I'm conspicuous. It's been useful so far, doesn't mean it will keep being useful."

That was almost certainly true, but she certainly wasn't going to be the one to say it. She perched on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes and stockings. "Tomorrow will likely be boring. Amanda will do her experiments and I'll try to convince Daniel to continue investigating Chadwick and Isodyne."

"You will," he replied. When she looked over at him he was in pajama pants and an undershirt. "I had an avocado today. I don't know what Jarvis is complaining about, they're delicious."

"I don't think Mr. Jarvis is what we would call an adventurous eater. Could you help me with my zipper?"

He grinned at her. "Turn."

She did so, presenting him with her back. She could have wiggled it down herself, but he did enjoy it and she'd meant what she said about marital rituals. It was nice to have someone to help with her zippers. He trailed a finger down her spine, over her slip. It was a gentle touch, but it felt like an invitation.

Letting the dress slide down her arms, she stepped out of it and tossed it over the back of a chair before turning to him. "Are you very tired?" she asked softly.

He gave her an amused look and half a shrug. "Well, maybe I was fishing a little. Are you tired?"

"Mmm, not a bit."

He bent to kiss her. They'd had plenty of stress and tension that day, they could do to unwind and reconnect. This, this they were always good at, no matter what else was going on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a note, we wrote this while Season 2 was airing, so we relied heavily on the theory that readers would be familiar with the events. Then the show got kind of needlessly complicated and we got distracted with other things and somehow it took a year to finish it. We veer off the plot in later chapters, but if you didn't watch the season or don't remember it much, the link below might help as a refresher.
> 
> http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Agent_Carter_(TV_series)/Season_Two

Particularly with the change of timezones, Amanda would have expected to wake up at dawn, but the sun was shining in the windows when James gently shook her awake. He was fully dressed. "Hey. Steve and I need to head out."

She groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. " _Herrgott_ , what time is it?"

"Almost ten. You missed breakfast, but there's some pastries and tea waiting for you."

She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept that late. "I must have been more tired than I thought."

"We did spend 10 hours on an airplane yesterday."

Clearly air travel just wasn't for her. James handed her her glasses and she smiled, kissing him once she'd slipped them on. "Have fun on the movie set."

"Have fun with the frozen body." He looked at her seriously. "Be careful."

"I'm always careful." She kissed him again. "Go. I'll see you for supper."

He gave her a smile and a little wave, and then he left. There was a knock a moment later, Anna bringing her tea and toast. "Your husband said he was waking you up."

"So he was. I can't believe I slept so long."

"It's very relaxing here," she offered, setting the tray down. "I sleep better than I did in New York. I think it's the air."

That could be true. It was warm enough they'd slept with the window open. "In any case, I'd better eat quickly. I've work to do today."

"Edwin took Peggy to the office already, but he came back and can drive you when you are ready. She said she wanted to grease some wheels."

She and Anna exchange a look. "Idioms," Amanda muttered, making the other woman smile. "Thank you for the tea. I think I'll shower before getting dressed. Help me wake up."

"Attached bath is right there." She pointed. "All your clothes have been pressed and are in the closet."

"Thank you, Anna. You're an angel."

A shower helped tremendously, and then Amanda got ready to go over to the lab. The car Jarvis had pulled around to drive her was mercifully _not_ the sex car. They chatted on the drive to the morgue, mostly about his absolutely not broken nose and what nonsense Howard was getting up to lately. 

"I do hope you'll get a chance to see him soon," Jarvis said as they pulled into a parking spot. "He's always so well behaved after you've had a talking to."

Amanda gathered up her bag, opening the door. "I have some excellent speeches ready, I promise."

"He's particularly fearful of your right jab, as well."

She grinned. "As well he should be." She climbed out of the car and he trailed along behind her as they entered the morgue. "You don't have to come," she offered.

"I'll see you safely to your dead body," he told her. "I'd be remiss in my duties if I did not."

Amanda was fairly certain that if anything nefarious happened she would be far more useful than he would. But she did appreciate that he tried.

They turned the corner leading to the office Ms. Scott's body was in and stopped short. The two SSR agents who had been left to guard the body lay on the ground, bullet holes in their foreheads. She heard Jarvis murmur something under his breath but ignored him, closing the distance to crouch next to them. They were cooler than body temperature, but not by much, and no rigor had set in. "Call Peggy," she snapped. "This was recent."

She heard his footsteps run off and straightened. The door to the exam room was ajar and she used the tip of a finger to push it open wide enough to peer inside. Sure enough, Ms. Scott's body was gone.

" _Kruzitürken_!"

Amanda ended up back at the SSR building—hidden within the improbably named Auberach Theatrical Agency. Rose was herding a man carrying a tuba out the door when they arrived. "Nice to see you again, Doc!" she called. "Welcome to California."

_Danke_ , Rose. I'm afraid I haven't seen much of it. Other than the morgue."

"Oh, make sure you get a chance to see the beach. And the sign. Nothing like that back home."

The actual office looked quite like the one back in New York. She found a seat in Chief Sousa's office, watching him and Peggy loudly agree with each other. 

They were arranging for a search warrant at Isodyne. Peggy came to sit next to her while Sousa was on the phone. "It just occurred to me that if you had been there this morning. . ."

"Indeed." It had been the first thing she'd thought when she'd seen the dead guards. "An excellent day for me to sleep in." 

"Was that enough danger for one day, or are you up for coming along for the search?"

"I am always up for thrilling heroics," she told her with a smile. "Especially at questionable chemical companies."

Peggy grinned. "Excelent."

It was rather nice being on an adventure with Peggy again. Amanda spent entirely too much time down in the labs. Of course, the heroics were cut rather short when they arrived at Isodyne and were informed there had been a leak and they would be unable to perform said search.

Peggy and Sousa were arguing with the front desk woman - who missed her calling as a spy, given her unflappable smile - when Amanda spotted Dr. Wilkes exiting a side door and cornered him. He stammered over the same leak story the front desk had given with a smile.

She raised an eyebrow at him, as he was a terrible liar. "I know you must have a radiation suit."

He cleared his throat. "Well, yes but . . . unknown factors-"

"When do you expect the leak to be contained?" she asked sweetly.

Nervously, he glanced over at the main desk, then fidgeted with the clipboard he was holding. "These things sometimes take. . . time."

"Dr. Wilkes, it's very clear that Isodyne is up to something. I doubt Peggy or her colleague will let it drop. I strongly suggest you don't let yourself get caught in the crossfire."

He looked pained, but cast one more look over at the desk, which had now acquired a serious looking man in a lab coat. "I have somewhere I need to be," Dr. Wilkes said. "Thank you for coming." He reached out and shook her hand, pressing a folded piece of paper into it as he did so.

Carefully hiding the note in her palm, she strolled back over to wait for the others to give up. It wasn't until they were all outside that she unfolded the note. 

_Griffiths Observatory, 9PM._

"White lab coats stick together," Amanda explained at Sousa's flummoxed expression.

"Are we sure it's safe?" he said.

"He seemed quite keen to make sure the others didn't know he was giving it to me."

"He struck me as trustworthy," Peggy said. "We did almost get him killed yesterday, and he's still willing to help us. Amanda and I will go." She pointed at him. "You have dinner plans."

Inexplicably, he flushed, tips of his ears turning red. But he nodded. "You get in touch if anything smells fishy."

"Of course. Don't worry. We can handle this."

He turned towards the car, then back to her. "If he's back from the set, you could—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Peggy said firmly.

Wisely, Sousa just nodded and climbed in the car. 

Jarvis made similar mutterings about going with them, which Peggy also shot down. Amanda thought making them take Howard's "leisure car" was some sort of passive aggressive punishment on his part.

"It does have the largest trunk," Peggy told her as they drove off. 

"Are we planning to kidnap Dr. Wilkes?"

"No, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

The observatory was at the top of a hill, with a breathtaking view of the city below. Amanda got briefly distracted and Peggy had to drag her along with a sigh. "We'll come back later."

"Taskmaster," Amanda muttered.

Admittedly, the film reel of zero matter sucking in half a dozen army trucks and god knew how many men was equally distracting. Peggy kept trying to ask Dr. Wilkes questions, but Amanda barely heard it. She suddenly had the great urge to find someone willing to bomb Isodyne into next month. It was like Howard and his vault of misfit toys, only a hundred times worse.

Peggy held up a hand. "Shhh. Did you hear that?"

Amanda turned an ear towards the door while Dr. Wilkes shut off the projector. There was a clank out in the hallway and the quiet murmur of voices. She exchanged a worried look with Peggy, getting to her feet. Peggy peeked out the door, and then turned in alarm. She reached to yank Amanda down by her pant leg just as bullets exploded through the door.

"We need to find another way out of here," Peggy ordered Dr. Wilkes after the first volley of bullets was over.

"This way." He lead them through a back door, then two hallways before spilling out into the rotunda and out the front doors to where they had left the car. Once they reached it, however, it was clear the tires had been slashed.

"Oh, bloody _hell_ ," Peggy said, yanking the door open. "Amanda, get one of theirs started.”

"What are you doing?" Wilkes asked Peggy as Amanda opened the door of the closest bad-guy car and started hotwiring.

"Sending an SOS." 

Gunfire clattered, and then the engine roared to life. "Come on," Amanda yelled, kicking open the opposite door so they could both jump in as she peeled away. 

The gunmen chased them into the city, and they ended up parked in an alleyway hiding in the dark while their pursuers drove by. "I can't believe that worked," Peggy muttered.

"I don't think that we are dealing with the cream of the villain crop," Amanda said. She blew out a breath and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. “Now where to?"

"Isodyne," Peggy said immediately.  
"What?" Wilkes looked at her as if she was mad. "Why?"

"You said you can contain the zero matter. Can you transport it?" He nodded and Peggy smiled a smile that meant Amanda was probably going to get shot at again before the night was over. "You are going to help us steal it."

He tipped his head back and looked at the roof of the car. "I had this whole mental debate about whether to trust the two of you. And on my list of reasons—it was not the only one—was the fact that the person who married Captain America probably wasn't evil. But I'm now remembering that while he ran on the side of the angels, he also did things like climb tanks and jump without a parachute." He looked over at Peggy. "And wondering where he got that from."

"Details are fuzzy on which of them is the bad influence on the other," Amanda told him, earning her a glare from Peggy. She ignored it, pulling out of the alley and heading towards Isodyne.

*

"The costume wasn't that bad."

Steve was driving on a dark, unfamiliar road, so he didn't turn to glare at Bucky. But he thought about it. "It's looks like the USO outfit, not what I fought in."

"It looks like your comic book outfit, which _you_ draw."

"I do not draw those head wing things. Makes it look like I have flaccid horns."

"Maybe they help you run faster," Bucky said, in his driest, most serious tone. "Also, I really don't think the outfit is the worst of your problems."

Steve sighed. "I don't disagree."

"They have you punching Hitler. The _actual_ Hitler. I know I was being held captive by Hydra for significant chunks of the war but I'm pretty sure you never met that guy."

"No. Several other people had dibs on him if we got close enough. For a while it was you." He saw the hidden driveway of Casa de Stark—that was actually on a sign on the gate—and had to turn around. This part of Los Angeles was hilly and windy and he didn't like it. 

When he finally managed to reach the house, they'd barely turned the car off when the front door opened and Anna Jarvis came running out. "There you are!"

Okay, sure, no one had thought they'd be out this long past dark but it wasn't like they had a curfew. And why was Mrs. Jarvis coming out to yell at him and not -

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked, voice hard with concern.

"Your wives took Mr. Stark's recreation car for a meeting about the thing they're working on. It has an emergency tracker. For vulgar reasons, but in this case they were in trouble. Edwin called Mr. Sousa and they went off. That was an hour ago."

Behind him, Steve had started the car again.

"Where was the tracker?"

"The Observatory." She reached in the pockets of her apron and pulled out a handgun. "Here, you might need this." 

Steve waited only long enough for Bucky to reach out and take it before peeling back out of the drive.

The observatory was swarming with cops and SSR agents. The car was there, with slashed tires and a ton of spent shell casings. Whatever fear and panic he was feeling—and there was _plenty_ —he shoved down beneath the soldier that had carried him through the war. Panic got you dead. "No blood," he said to Bucky. He turned and grabbed one of the SSR agents by the arm. "Where's your boss?

The man stared back, wide-eyed. Steve shook him because he did not have time for people to be awed by Captain America right now.

The guy stuttered a few times and someone else off to the left said, "Chief took the British guy to Isodyne. Said he was done playing nice."

"Where the fuck is Isodyne?" Bucky asked.

"South of here, down Nueva. Got a big clock tower, you can't miss it."

Steve released the useless guy and stalked back towards the car, Bucky at his heels. "We can't leave them alone for one day," he muttered as Steve squeaked the tires getting back on the road.

The building didn't prove hard to find, as it was completely surrounded by emergency vehicles, lights and sirens going off everywhere. Steve could see a large hole in the front of the building. He parked in front of the police barricade and they both climbed out. He slung a leg over it and a beat cop came sprinting over. "This area is closed to the public."

Steve looked down at him, not really having the time for this. "I'm Captain America, they called for my help."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm not sure-"

"Captain Rogers." Jarvis waved from farther into the crowd. Steve could see Sousa's head next to him, lit by the red light of an ambulance. Bucky was already pushing his way through the crowd and Steve followed suit. He was pretty sure the beat cop wasn't going to tackle him to stop him. If he did he was going to get a punch in the face that would look bad in the papers tomorrow.

They reached Jarvis and Sousa, standing near a second level of barricade in front of the building rubble. They both pointed, and Steve turned to see Amanda hovering over a stretcher a man with a bleeding head wound was being loaded into. 

Bucky's breath came out in a rush. "'Manda!" She looked up, startled, and started towards them, with one last glance at her patient. Bucky didn't wait, sprinting the last few feet to scoop her up in a hug.

Steve turned a full circle looking for Peggy, and cold dread curling in his stomach when he didn't see her. He turned back to the other men, and whatever was on his face made Jarvis take a step back. 

"Steve?"

The voice was thin and watery, but clearly Peggy's. He whirled back to see her walking away from the rubble lining the front of the building. He turned, and people wisely moved out of his way. He leapt over the inner barricade. She stumbled a little as he reached her and he caught her by the arms. "Are you—are you hurt?"

She blinked at him a few times as if she hadn't heard or perhaps understood the question. Then she gave a little nod. "Yes- yes I'm fine."

Now he was concerned the blast had blown her ear drums, or she had some sort of concussion. "Peggy, look at me."

She did so, eyes wide and rather glassy. "I wasn't in the building when - when it happened." She blinked again, shaking her head. "I need to report to Daniel. There's so much to process. . ."

"Process can wait until Amanda looks at you. Can you walk okay?"

"Yes, of course. Is Amanda all right? We were separated."

He put an arm around her anyway and they made their way out. "She's fine. She found wounded. Of course." She didn't even protest when he lifted her up over the barricade.

Amanda and Bucky met them at the ambulance with Jarvis and Sousa. The women hugged and he could see Amanda already examining Peggy when they stepped back. Steve looked over at the rest of them. "What in hell is going on?"

"We tried to search Isodyne earlier today but they claimed they'd had a leak," Sousa began. "Dr. Wilkes passed Dr. Barnes a note indicating he'd be willing to help us. So the ladies went there to meet him."

"Oh," Peggy said quietly. "Dr. Wilkes?"

The question seemed to be directed at Amanda, as she was shaking her head. "He'd gone to retrieve the Zero matter. Near as I can tell it would have been at the epicenter of the blast."

Her shoulders slumped, and Steve reached out to rub her back. "How about we go home?"

"My report," she protested.  
"You can give it tomorrow," Sousa said firmly. "Go home and get some rest. Both of you."

"Thank you," Steve said. Peggy scrubbed her eyes, and seemed to have mustered her composure. The steel was back into her spine as she walked toward their car. He knew she didn't like being fussed over, particularly in public, so he didn't touch her now that she was acting like herself.

Bucky and Amanda climbed in the backseat without anyone having to discuss it. Peggy sat next to Steve in the front, staring straight ahead as they made their way out of the sea of emergency vehicles. When they'd put all the lights in their rearview and were heading towards Starks, she slumped again, looking miserable. 

Now he did reach over, to put his hand over hers. An inquiry more than anything else. She shuddered and turned her hand over to hold his, weaving her fingers into his. They held hands the rest of the drive, him slowly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She let go with obvious reluctance when they got home and had to get out of the car.

Anna Jarvis tried to meet them to fuss but Steve gave a shake of his head and she just smiled, holding the door open for them all. Peggy didn't even glance at her, heading straight for the stairs.

He followed her to their room, shutting the door behind him. She went to the dresser to take off her jewelry and he came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. "Hey."

She let her hands drop, leaning into him. "This was not a good day," she said quietly.

"I know," he replied. He didn't entirely, but he could guess. She'd tell him later. He reached up to take the pins out of her hair. "I'm sorry." He unfastened her necklace and took it off. She stayed still as he did it. He touched her zipper, another question, though he didn't really expect her to wear her dress to bed. She nodded slightly and he tugged it down, revealing her slip.

She gave a little sniffle. "How was the movie set?"

"Appalling. Howard's out chasing tail and the director is running amok. Cap punches Hitler. Like, literally."

"Only once?" The gentle tease in her tone made him feel a bit better.

"Apparently. I should have come out here sooner." He pulled her over to the bed, and nudged her to sit so he could take her shoes and stockings off for her. 

"I'm starting to wonder if I should have come out at all," she said, watching him undress her. "I don't know that I've been a net gain."

"Why would you say that?" he asked, rolling her stockings up neatly. 

Rubbing her forehead she started ticking things off on her fingers. "I haven't solved Ms. Scott's murder. My one witness for that is dead. I've almost gotten Amanda killed three times now. I _did_ get Dr. Wilkes killed. I have no evidence that Isodyne is corrupt and any evidence I might have gotten was almost certainly lost in that explosion."

"There was no evidence that crazy Russian shrink was up to something, either, until he was." He caught her wrist. "What's your gut tell you?"

She took a deep breath through her nose. "That they're up to something. And this explosion was only the beginning."

"Keep on it then. Don't let doubt make you crazy."

For a few moments she held his gaze, as if searching for something. Then she smiled faintly. "Thank you, darling."

He smiled back. "What for?"

"Having faith in me. Even when I don't."

"Faith in you I have," he replied. "Even when I'm scared out of mind."

She touched his cheek gently. "I'm sorry."

"It's still better than worrying from the other side of the ocean. And you watched me march into danger plenty." He stood up, going to get her nightgown and robe for her. 

He could feel her watching him as he moved around the room. "Sousa tried to suggest I wait for you. But it seemed harmless. Dr. Wilkes was on the up-and-up and I had Amanda with me."

"It's not like I have the shield anymore," he replied. "I'm not bullet proof. Or bomb proof." When he turned, she had her back to him and was unhooking her bra. She tossed it aside, then bent to wiggle out of her drawers. He took a moment to appreciate her and the fact that, miraculously, he didn't see a scratch or bruise on her.

When she was naked she turned back to him, stepping forward to reach for her nightgown. He tried not to stare too obviously has he handed it over. She'd had a hell of a day. But he was never going to get tired of looking at her.

She seemed to notice anyway, because she smiled. "Or would you prefer a leave it off?"

"You must be exhausted on any number of levels. I don't want to be that guy."

Head tilting, she stepped closer. "When you had an awful mission and finally dragged yourself back into base, what was the first thing you wanted to do?"

He grinned. "Visit the storage room." There had been a lot of improvising, that was for sure. "But—"

She plucked the nightgown out of his hand and tossed it aside. "And do you really think that men and women are so fundamentally different that my reaction to fear and danger and loss would be that different." She wound her arms around his neck and he had no choice but to hold her. "Sometimes the only thing to do to make yourself feel better is do something to reassure yourself you're alive."

"In my defense, I was actually going to say something the serum and coping with fatigue," he murmured as he bent his head, his mouth nearly touching hers by the end.

"Tell you what," she said softly, looking at his mouth before smiling. "You can do all the work."

"Deal," he said, and the he kissed her. She sank her fingers into his hair, kissing him back with great enthusiasm. There was a hit of desperation, or something very similar, to it. She had been awfully shaken up, maybe she did need this to ground her. He ran his hands down her back, cupping her rear and pulling her closer. "I gotcha."

She sighed softly, then began to work on his shirt buttons, fingers marching down his chest efficiently. When she was done he was obliged to let her go long enough to strip off his jacket, shirt and undershirt. She grinned widely when he was done, reaching out to stroke his skin. "You continue to look absolutely scrumptious."

"You say that like you expect to find me different," he teased.

"I just like you to know you are appreciated." She leaned close and dropped a kiss on his shoulder before nuzzling his skin lightly. "And not take for granted the things that make me happy."

He kicked off his shoes and the rest of his clothes. Normally she'd turn the bed back, or watch him with her hands on her hips—a sight he enjoyed—but today she held on to him, like she didn't want to let him go. In return, he lifted her up and carried her to the bed.

The covers were soft and luxurious, like everything else in the house. Howard liked his creature comforts, he'd give him that. They sank down into the bed and Peggy pulled him in for another deep kiss. Her hands roamed him, gentle and urgent at the same time. 

He'd memorized her long ago, every dip and swell. The texture of her skin and the sound of her sighs. The storage closet had taught them to be efficient and the long gaps apart had taught them to take their time with what little they had. Echoes of that still tinted their marriage, particularly when they were naked. "Fast or slow?" he whispered to her.

"Hmm." She gave him assessing look, fingertips tracing the bumps of his spine. "Fast, I think." She kissed him, tugging his lower lip. "Get the blood pumping."

He met the kiss. "You think?" He caught her wrists, pinning them above her head and making her arch her back.

She grinned. "Well, I'm rather torn. I do like when you aim that considerable focus on me and only me." 

"Mmm." He kissed across from one breast to the other, now that they were displayed so nicely.

It earned him a little moan as she arched higher. He really did enjoy her sounds. Her legs fidgeted and he shifted to pin them with one of his, keeping her where he wanted her. He kissed her sternum, her belly, her hipbones. He nudged her legs open with his shoulder. "Made up your mind yet?"

"What you're doing right now is currently in the lead."

"I'll bet," he murmured, and then he kissed her center. She jerked and cried out, not even attempting to be quiet. Which was perfectly fine by him. Her moans and cries grew louder as he sucked and licked, in all the ways she liked best.

When she was close she dug her hands into his hair again. "Steve, _Steve_." Then she started to shake, arching into his mouth.

He crawled up, bracing over her as she drifted back down. Tears leaked from the corners of her her closed eyes. "Hey," he whispered, reaching to brush them away.

She sniffled again, reaching for him. "I'm alright," she whispered, despite sounding anything but.

God, did he hate seeing her like this. She was tougher on herself than anybody else by an order of magnitude. He stroked his hand down her cheek. "Peggy, look at me." When she opened her eyes, he whispered, "I love you." 

More tears spilled out, but she smiled. "I love you, too." He kissed her, and it went on until he could feel her shifting restlessly beneath him again. Until she dug her nails in his arm and then let out a breathless laugh. "Steve, this is not fast."

"Now you sound like yourself again," he told her, hitching one of her legs up over his hip so he could ease into her. She sighed and the sound was all pleasure and no grief. Then he started to move, fast, just the way she'd asked.

Her nails dug in again, hips lifting to meet his strokes. She kissed him, opened mouthed and explicit, moaned when they broke for air. There was nothing in the world as good as this, as them. He could feel the tension in her, and he reached between them to touch her. "That's it, honey."

She whimpered, which was a sound he was sure only he ever heard, and then he felt her start to clench around him. Nails raked down his back as she got lost in it, shuddering in his arms. He let go, let her body coax him into following her over the edge. For a little bit there, everything else ceased to exist.

For a few long moments they just held each other, trying to catch their breath. Then Peggy placed an affectionate kiss on his temple. "Thank you, darling."

Steve pushed up on an elbow to look at her. "Better?"

"Much, actually." She touched his cheek. "You do know how to soothe me."

He rolled them—he was too heavy and it was too hot out to lay on her any longer—so they were on their sides, facing each other. "Listen. If you have a situation where you think you need back-up, I'm happy to tag along. But I know you can handle yourself, and I know you know that."

She blew out a breath, sending a lock of hair fluttering up. "I know. And beforehand and in the heat of the moment I'm fine. Just. . . in the aftermath it's so easy to see where I went wrong."

"What was it you told me once? Allow someone the dignity of their choice?"

"Oh, it's not fair to toss my own words back at me." She smiled and shook her head. "I will try to let it go."

"And I'll be here when you need reminding."

"Thank you, my darling." She sighed and kissed him. "I'm exhausted. But in the morning I want to hear all about the movie and you punching Hitler."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry posts have been sporadic, my daughter's birthday was this week, plus she started camp. There was some scheduling bumpiness.

Amanda had once lectured Howard Stark about messing in areas of science that were not his expertise. She put her money where her mouth was, and didn't want to mess in areas she didn't know. Zero matter was definitely not in her area, but it was very much in Howard's.

Which is why Bucky was driving back out to the movie set several hours north of the city. Since Howard didn't return their calls, his wife had decided to collect him in person.

"I do hope he's not in the middle of despoiling some girl with delusions of stardom when we find him," she said, peering out the window. "I'm not in any way in the mood to see Howard's _arsch_ this morning."

"Jarvis did warn us to knock if he's in his trailer."

"I have discovered knocking only gives him an opportunity to escape out the back." Amanda had become an expert at cornering Howard and making him behave.

The set wasn't fenced off at all, so they could just park and walk in the direction of the cameras. They could hear Howard yelling, and followed the sound. To Bucky's surprise, Howard was up on a camera lift with a megaphone. He called, "Cut!" when she saw them, and had himself lowered down. "Break for lunch," he added, and came jogging over. "It's my favorite doctor _and_ my favorite project. How's the arm?"

"It's fine," he said, as Howard lifted his left arm, and then began unbuttoning his sleeve to get a better look at it. Bucky frowned at him.

Amanda reached out and slapped Howard's hand. He snatched it away, rubbing it while he gave her a wounded look. "We have something for you to look at and it's not James's arm."

"Ah, yes. Sorry I didn't call you back. We were doing script rewrites. I fired the director."

She sighed deeply. "Do you know anything about directing a movie, Howard?"

"I know that no one punched Hitler and Peggy wasn't the Commandos's secretary. Ergo, I'm already doing better than the last guy." He turned and looked at the set, then back at her. "Though if you've got something really exciting, I might just hire another one."

Amanda smiled widely. "Oh, _Schnuffi_ , I think you'll find this very exciting."

That was enough to get Howard to lead them to his trailer, which looked more like a gentleman's club inside than the trailers they'd had back in the war. There was a projector there and Amanda gave Howard the zero matter film reel to thread onto it.

Amanda had described it to him in bed last night, but watching it first hand was something else. This wasn't the kind of power anyone should have.

Howard stared in silence for a moment after the film ended, then turned and began peppering Amanda with questions. Bucky paced the back part of the trailer, looking around idly.

There was a woman's stocking hanging from one of the drapery rods. With a sigh, he tugged it down. Sometimes he had a bit of sympathy for Howard. Bucky had never compared to him in volume or debauchery, but he'd been a ladies man in his own right. Of course, he hadn't left a long line of women dying to slap him in his wake when he'd gone to war.

"I'm going to assume this is interesting enough for you to start taking our calls?"

He hid a grin. Amanda's smug voice was adorable.

"Are you kidding? I'm coming back home."

They left him trying to convince his assistant director to take over for him. "It's important I use my powers for good," Amanda said in the car.

"You think we should have made him ride back with us?"

"No, no. It's better to lure Howard along. If we push too hard he'll lose interest. He got a taste, now he'll chase after us to get the rest."

"Do you think he's aware you're psychologically manipulating him?"

She paused before answering. "You know, I don't know. I think he has some idea that he needs someone to mind him - he hired Jarvis for a reason - so perhaps he's decided to let me get away with it."

"He has always been fond of you." He looked down at his metal arm. "Maybe I should let him fiddle with it."

"He has had some new ideas," she offered, clearly choosing her words carefully. "It might help with the fine motor issues you were complaining about."

"It was made to make me a useful soldier, not a useful civilian."

"Howard has many flaws, but he is as brilliant as he thinks he is. If he thinks he could improve it, he can."

"I want to be able to. . . take care of us. At some point."

She looked over at him, then reached out to touch his knee. "I know it matters to you. So I would support whatever you want. But don't ever think I'm unhappy or disappointed in you."

"I know," he said. "I really do. You liked me when all I had was a tied off sleeve."

"Yes, I did." The hand settled on his knee, a warm, comforting weight. "Nothing will change how I feel about you."

He drove in silence for a bit, thinking about his conversation with Steve. "How are we going to have family if I can't support us?"

"Howard has offered me a job many times. At almost twice what the SSR pays. He might be a fickle man, but I believe he's sincere. And he wouldn't care if I was pregnant."

Bucky sighed. "What if _I_ care?"

She stared at him a moment. "You'd want me to quit if I got pregnant?"

"No. I don't know." He looked over at her. "Somebody has to, don't they? Kids need looking after. I realize that Steve finds the idea of being a house husband entertaining, but that's Steve."

It was clear from her expression that he hadn't thought of that. She looked out the window in silence for a moment. "What would I do with myself all day?"

"I don't know. There's a lot of. . . house stuff. My mother always seemed busy."

She didn't reply immediately. After a moment, she took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. "That's not. . . really what I meant." She sighed and slipped her glasses back on. "I don't want to be a housewife, James."

He wasn't entirely surprised with the answer, though he had no idea what to do with it. "I guess it doesn't really matter now, anyway, does it?"

"No," she said quietly. "I suppose not."

The silence between them stretched. "Do you want children?" he finally asked.

"Yes," she said immediately, voice harsh, as if she was near tears. "But I also want to be a doctor and research the serum. And apparently I can't have both. And that will take time to come to terms with."

"I didn't say you couldn't do that. I just. . . don't know how we're going to make it work is all."

She rummaged in her bag, pulling out a tissue. "I don't think there's a third option, _Liebling_."

"We could get a wife. I hear that's legal in Utah."

At least that got a little chuckle. "Maybe we could hire Steve to watch them."

"See? There are options." He held the wheel with his metal hand and reached to touch her. "We'll figure it out."

She held his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Yes. I'm sure we'll think of something."

*

Peggy had not been having a good day. In the morning, she went through the personal possessions of an innocent man she'd gotten killed and discovered he was being set up as a communist spy—by the _most_ obvious and incompetent frame job she'd ever seen—and blamed for everything. He was dead, and he was black, so it was very convenient.

Then, because that and the press camped outside wasn't enough, Jack Thompson had flown out apparently just to falsify a report and toss some digs her way. She might be a communist, or an adulterer. That was everybody's perennial favorite accusation. 

Daniel made a choking noise when she reminded Thompson that Amanda had been there and asked if he thought they were all cavorting together, or had taken turns.

Then, when she got home, Howard had not only returned but seemed to have thrown a pool party. He was nowhere to be seen, but there were aspiring starlets in bathing suits everywhere. A decent sized crowd had formed a ring around Steve, who was stretched out in a lounge chair.

And that was quite enough of that. She stormed around the edge of the pool, heedless of Jarvis trying to get her attention. Pushing between two of the women she plopped down on Steve's lap, making damn sure the holster on her garter showed and said, quite firmly, "Go. Away."

Steve grinned, and cupped the back of her neck to pull her down for a not even remotely chaste kiss. She wasn't exactly one for public displays of affection, usually, but she'd had a day, and he was hers.

She was so busy with the kiss - that in any other circumstances she would happily have turned into far more - that she was surprised when she lifted her head to find his little fan club gone. 

"Thank you," he said emphatically.

"Yes, I didn't think you'd object." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "What a day."

He rubbed her back. "What happened?"

The whole mess came out of her in a rush. The frame on Wilkes and Thompson's accusations and all. "One good thing came of it," she added, before he could get up and go beat up the SSR chief.

"You finally gave in and slapped that man?"

"No, too early in the case." She dug in her pocket and pulled out a lapel pin. "One of the agents found this in the car Amanda and I stole from the men who tried to shoot us. I got a hold of it before Thompson could get wind of it. I was hoping Howard would have some idea what it was, but that was before I came home to this." She gestured grimly at the party.

"He says this is cover. He's down in the lab with Amanda. Told Bucky and I to entertain his production assistants." He also gestured at the pool party. "But Howard took Bucky's arm, so he doesn't want to come out. I was alone until you rescued me."

"Ah." She kissed him again. "Shall we go pester our wayward host, then?"

Howard's lab had a wall made of movable chalkboards he could slide up and down, like in classrooms. At the moment they were covered with equations. Bucky's arm was in pieces on one of the lab tables. Amanda was off to the left scribbling notes. "Maybe aliens made it," she said without looking up.

"I want to know why _I_ didn't make it," Howard complained. 

"Perhaps you were mid orgy when the thought occurred to you and it didn't stick."

He pointed at her without looking. "I told you that was one time, right after the war, and I was _very_ drunk."

"And not once did I ever ask," she murmured, still scribbling.

"I see you are doing well," Steve said. He looked at Amanda. "Any progress other than the complaining?"

She sighed. "It disrupts gravitational fields. It's probably not of this earth. Dr. Wilkes did mention extraterrestrial or dimensional. Otherwise, without a sample of it, we're not going to get very far."

Peggy dug out the pin. "Howard, do you know what this is. I swear I've seen it before but can't recall where."

He dragged himself away from his chalk board and came over to look at it. "That's the symbol for the Arena Club." He plucked it out of her fingers and twirled it. "Where did you get that?"

"It appears to have belonged to one of the men who tried to kill me last night. What is the Arena Club?"

"Social club for LA's silver spoon crowd since 1906." He handed the pin back and wandered over to the tray next to Amanda to pour himself a drink. Because of course Howard had a bar in his laboratory. "The influential, the powerful. The reptilia and the rodentia. The Arena Club is where they all congregate."

Amanda glanced at him. "And why aren't you a member?"

"I'm not a joiner," he told her, swirling his ice cubes.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "They don't allow women."

"There's that, too." He took a long drink. "Not surprised they're ordering assassinations, but surprised a pin holder is carrying out the dirty work."

Peggy went over to get herself a drink. "We need to get in there."

"Well that sounds boring as hell," Howard said. "Also, I reiterate, no women allowed."

"I'll go," Steve said. "I'm about dead opposite of silver spoon, but people like Captain America."

Peggy shook her head. "I need to plant listening devices. See what sort of secrets are being told behind all those closed doors. No one is going to leave you alone long enough to set them up."

"We could dress Doc up as a man," Howard said. "Even I could not subdue your breasts," he added to Peggy when she turned to give him a look.

"I've done it before," Amanda offered. "Though I was younger, then."

"No," Peggy said. "Too easy to get caught. A man snooping around is suspicious. What we need is a large, disruptive distraction."

"I'm not doing a song and dance number," Steve quipped.

Distantly, Peggy could hear the shrieks and giggles of the women by the pool. Grinning, she looked over at Steve. "Oh. You're brilliant."

*

Amanda, as it turned out, was not needed for the foray into the Arena Club. Spying wasn't her cup of tea, and she in no way passed for a ditzy starlet for that part of the ruse. She did appreciate Howard trying to convince her she could 'Veronica Lake' her hair over the scar. 

Howard had reassembled James's arm before heading out, and he decided relax by the pool now that it was empty. Amanda went into work. In all of the chaos with the body and then the explosion and then Howard-fetching, she hadn't been to the west coast lab yet. Dr. Samberly was very excited to meet her. 

"A box of files arrived for you yesterday," he told her, showing her to the desk then set up for her. "Chief Thompson brought them from New York. He had to transport them sealed because he wasn't cleared to look at them, and he was pretty pissed about that. Complained to me, like I give a shit."

The box sat on the desk, looking battered but intact. The words "Project Rebirth" were printed on the end in ink starting to yellow. "Oh, good. I've been waiting for these." That they annoyed Thompson in the process was simply a bonus. "Thank you, doctor."

"I heard the SSR was working on the serum again. Trying to make more Captain Americas."

If the SSR had its way, that was exactly what she would be doing. But she would set fire to her work and these files before she let that happen. Steve would likely hold the match for her. All she said was, "There's only one Captain America," with her fakest smile, hoping he would take the hint.

He went back to his work, and when she was comfortable he wasn't going to come snooping over her shoulder, she broke the seal on the box. Inside was a hodge podge of files and note pads, many hand written. She pulled one out and immediately recognized Erskine's handwriting. The sight made her smile sadly. She had worked shoulder to shoulder with him on his initial serum, the one given to Schmidt. Erskine had been one of the few doctors to treat her as an equal, despite her gender. She'd considered him a mentor.

Digging deeper, she found files pertaining specifically to Steve. There were pictures of him pre-serum, some showing far more of him than she really ever needed to see. She tucked that file back into the bottom of the box and continued digging.

There was a file labeled Eugenic Goals. That. . . didn't sound like a good thing. It contained correspondence between Dr. Erskine, Col. Philips and what looked to be people in the War Department about the prospects of _breeding_ super soldiers from successful candidates.

A knot formed in her stomach as she got further. The War Department was clearly on team "breeding program" whereas Erskine refused to even discuss such a thing. It seemed to be a stand-off the the doctor would likely lose until Col. Philips, in his dry, blunt way, pointed out that soldiers in the field had a tendency to sample local flavor. At the prospect of a platoon of super soldiers leaving a string of bastard, half-French or German or Japanese in their wake the officials quickly back pedaled.

All the way to the other extreme.

Amanda closed the file and stared into space for a moment, wishing rather desperately she hadn't ever requested these files. Then she took a deep breath and started to pack up.

"You all right?" Dr. Samberly asked from across the room.

"Yes. I'm fine." She pressed the lid firmly into place. "Just think I'll be more comfortable reading this in an arm chair with a cup of tea."

She took her box to go, and was surprised to find Peggy and Sousa coming down the stairs, looking alarmed. "What is it?" she asked, tucking the box onto her hip.

"Bloody zero matter," Peggy replied. 

Sousa held his keys up in front of Peggy's chest and let go. They hovered there, spinning gently. Amanda made a little noise in her throat. "I will see you at Howard's then."

When they got back the men were all hanging out at the pool, talking about whatever men talked about when they were alone. They'd even roped Jarvis into it. James looked up with a smile that faded when he saw her face. He reached over and hit Steve's arm and asked what was wrong. 

"I believe I have been contaminated like the others," Peggy said with remarkable steadiness.

Steve leapt up, and Howard called out, "Don't touch her!"

"Screw that," Steve replied, not even looking back. Peggy put up a mild protest when he reached her, but tucked her head under his chin when he wrapped his arms around her.

Amanda had to look away from the tender moment. Her gaze caught James's and he stepped forward to hug her. "Hey. You okay?"

She nodded, though it wasn't entirely true. "It's nothing."

Howard marched over. "You remain as brave as you are stupid," he said, ostensibly to Steve. "Come on, in the lab." He waved. "You, too, Doc."

"I'll be right there." She handed her file box to James. "Can you put this in our room?"

"Sure. What is it?—no, never mind. Yes, I will put it in our room."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek and followed the others down to Howard's lab. 

He was busy taking readings from the air around Peggy. He glanced over at Amanda when she came down. "What did you do, stop to have tea?" He gestured at Peggy. "The air around her is 7 degrees cooler than the room, but only on one side. At first I thought it was Mr. Furnace over there, but I made him move. It's still lopsided."

_Focus, Amanda._ She could figure out what to do about those files later. Stepping closer, she picked up an instrument and held it in the air on Peggy's warmer side. When she let go it immediately dropped. "So she isn't infected like Ms. Scott was, or it would be bilateral. So it's not internal, but external?"

Howard smiled at her. "You know, I really missed you." He spun on his heel and went over to his array of work benches and lab tables. "It's a gravitational field disruption, and I have just the thing."

She trailed after him, watching as he started to combine chemicals in a beaker. "Silver nitrate?"

"The stuff they use to bond images to celluloid?" Sousa asked. All of them turned to stare at him, even Howard. The chief looked exasperated. "Come on. It's the Strategic _Scientific_ Reserve."

Peggy smothered a smile and Howard shook his head, going back to his chemicals. "Photography is the science of capturing light in its permanent form. When you capture that light the image is still invisible, that's when the developing process comes in." He poured his concoction into a spray bottle.

"You think whatever is changing the gravitational field around Peggy is invisible to us, but exists on one of the other wavelengths," Amanda supplied. "Ultra violet or the like."

"Exactly." He gestured to Peggy to move. "This should make it visible."

"Does silver nitrate develop that?"

"Not on its own. This is a special concoction, to develop all light. If it works I'll make a fortune. Another fortune." He looked at Amanda. "You're making a face." 

She had a glimmer of realization that he wanted her approval. Her relationship with Howard was very odd. She suspected she - and probably Peggy - were the only women in the world who he truly treated as equals. She had spent a great deal of time during the war worried he would someday try to kiss her or woo her in some way. But other than one early, ill advised joke about anatomy lessons, he never had. Even Peggy he flirted with and teased on occasion. Amanda he treated like, well, a man. A man whose respect he wanted in return.

"It's certainly a better use of your time than making bombs," she told him and saw his shoulders loosen. "I've just seen your chemistry experiments end in tears before."

"Well, I wouldn't spray this in your eyes," he replied with a grin, and then turned to spray the area to Peggy's left.

She stayed very still as he did it. Immediately a shape started to emerge, first in incandescent purple, then coalescing into a familiar form.

"Dr. Wilkes?" Peggy said, sounding both amazed and relieved. She reached out to touch his shoulder and her hand went through him. "Howard? Why can't I touch him?"

"He's visible, not tangible."

Amanda came closer. "You can't touch him any more that you could a sunbeam."

Howard had to spray his vocal cords before he could talk, and he said, "I've been hovering around you all since the explosion, trying to get someone to notice me."

James and Steve both cleared their throats awkwardly, and Dr. Wilkes rolled his eyes. "I wasn't peeping in anyone's bedrooms."

Amanda and Peggy rolled their eyes at each other. Why was that always the first place men's minds went? "Howard," Peggy said. "Can we make him whole again?"

He was frowning at his spray bottle. "I don't know."

"Well, thank you for getting me this far," Wilkes said.

Sousa stepped forward. "Dr. Wilkes, do you remember what happened to you the other night at Isodyne?"

He started telling them about trying to contain the zero matter and running into Whitney Frost of all people. Amanda followed Howard to his chalk board where he was frowning at the formulas scribbled there. "You just made something that exists on a wavelength unknown to humans visible and able to communicate. Being angry at yourself for not also making it tangible is illogical."

"There's that German practicality I love so much."

"Austrian pragmatism, thank you very much."

"Will you help me figure this out?"

She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Of course I will, Howard."


	5. Chapter 5

Team Science was up all night. Steve convinced Peggy to come to bed sometime after midnight. He could do with sleep deprivation, but she was clearly exhausted. Bucky passed out on the couch in Howard's lab and Steve took that as a cue.

They didn't sleep right away, because she was angry about her argument with Jack Thompson. "He told me to go back to New York. I mentioned you were out here to consult on the movie, and he said that he wasn't going to let me flutter about out here just so I could be on hand to keep you away from the starlets."

Steve made a face. "What is with that guy? It's like he's got a bag of cheap generic insults and just grabs one at random." He tucked his hands behind his head. "Though they are always in some way about sex, aren't they?"

"Usually." She frowned, twisting her wedding ring. "Amanda thinks he's jealous. It's escaped no ones notice that were I a man I would be the chief, not him. So he makes sure to remind me - at every possible opportunity - that I am, in fact, a woman, and therefore inferior to him."

"You _should_ be chief. You've been at the SSR longer than he and Sousa put together."

She sighed deeply. "I know. But I doubt that's ever going to happen. Men aren't going to take orders from a woman, you know."

"I don't know. Philips respected you. The Commandos took orders from you. I know the war broke a lot of rules and now we seem to be in some sort of rebound. But the world changes."

That seemed to reassure her a bit. She shifted, rolling onto her side to tuck herself against him. "Well, it needs to change faster," she said, sounding huffy.

"My mother was a suffragette," he said. "She used to say progress comes so slow it makes you crazy, but you push anyway because it's the only way anything ever moves. And maybe my daughters would be born into a better world."

He could feel her smile against his skin. "That is a nice thought."

"Our girls would kick the doors down no matter what, anyway."

"Well, of course they would. I just like to think I'm weakening the wood for them."

He kissed the top of her head. "You are."

She was silent a moment, then murmured, "I do intend to keep the starlets away from you."

"I still don't want anybody but you," he said, echoing the thing he said that had gotten her to kiss him for the first time.  
Giving a little squeeze, she said, "Neither do I, my darling."

He rubbed her back in slow, gentle circles, their breathing falling into sync as she began to relax. He held her until she drifted off to sleep.

When they woke in the morning, she was full of her usual vigor and headed out to talk to Whitney Frost and see what she could learn. She was off book now, and though she'd deny it he could tell she enjoyed that. His wife was most at home, he thought, when she was breaking rules.

Expecting the Science Team to stay locked in the lab the rest of the day, he found himself a book and settled in the study. He was surprised when the door opened about an hour later to reveal Amanda, looking rather sleep deprived.

"Good morning, Doc," he said, adopting Howard's rather apt nickname.

She smiled faintly, walking into the room. "I was hoping to find time to talk to you."

"Me? Sure." He gestured at the chair across from him and put his book down on the table next to him. "Something wrong?"

She sank into a chair across from him. "I got the original Project Rebirth files I'd been waiting for. I had a chance to look through them a bit before the whole Dr. Wilkes thing came up."

He chuckled and tipped his head back. "God. You've seen the naked pictures, haven't you?"

"Yes, but that's not -" She sighed. "There was correspondence in the files, between Dr. Erskine and the War Department, with occasional input from Colonel Philips. It predates your involvement in the program. In it, the War Department was discussing the potential of super soldier breeding programs, once a viable pool of successes had been achieved." She held up a hand before he could comment. "Dr. Erskine was strongly against it, and the Colonel seemed to find it distasteful as well. They convinced the higher-ups to abandon the idea but in the process made them concerned about . . . unmonitored procreation."

He thought about his conversation with Peggy last night. "Why is irresponsible sex the first thing everyone assumes?" Granted the Commandos did like to hit the brothels. "Is that why they gave me so many damn condoms?"

"No," she said quietly. He realized she was fidgeting a little and tried to remember the last time he'd seen her look nervous about anything. "Steve, I'm so sorry. But the super soldier process made you sterile."

He stared at her, his brain not processing the words. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're sterile. Or at least the formula and radiation used on you were designed to make you so, in addition to the height and muscle. There are tests I could run to be sure but. . ." She shook her head. "The notes are fairly specific. I have no reason to believe it wouldn't have worked."

Steve stood up, simply because he felt compelled to do something. He was too surprised and angry to be still. "And nobody told me?"

"I like to think Erskine would have told you eventually, had he lived. I don't know if anyone else knew. Howard and Peggy wouldn't have been privy to his dealings with the War Department and Colonel Philips could have forgotten or not known what the final decision would be."

He paced over to the window, staring out at Howard's over-landscaped yard. There weren't going to be any daughters. There weren't going to be any. . .anything. He swallowed a couple of times. "Is Bucky. . ."

"No," she said quietly. "Hydra has no such qualms about breeding programs."

"I'd like to run the tests," he said surprised at how steady his voice sounded. "Just in case."

"Of course. Howard has the equipment." She paused. "I would need a sample from you."

He blew out a breath. "Okay." He'd always assumed if he survived the war he'd have a family. A loud busy household like the Barnes's. Kids underfoot, dark hair and blue eyes.

He bent his head and put his hands over his face.

There was a long pause, then he heard Amanda get up. He expected to hear the door soon after. Nothing he knew about her indicated she was good with comfort. But a moment later he felt a hand on his back.

After a minute he managed to get out, "Don't tell Peggy."

"I wasn't planning to. This is private medical information."

He nodded. "Seems like a private conversation." That he had no idea how he'd even begin. _Hi, honey. We can never have children. Pass the tea._

Amanda rubbed his back gently. "If there's anything I can do or if either of you have any questions please don't hesitate."

"Thanks," he said. "I just. . . I just need a minute."

"Of course." She gave him another pat and stepped away.

It was, he thought, going to take a lot more than a minute.

*

The room Howard had given Amanda and Bucky overlooked the pool. It was nice at night, they could hear the water circulating gently, and the breeze was really nice. It cooled down at night here, making it much more bearable.

However, if someone was down at the pool area in the evening, you could hear them. After they'd finally gotten Dr. Wilkes stably visible, Amanda had passed out and slept most of the afternoon. She was clearly upset about something, but wouldn't talk about it. Now she was awake, and he was hoping fooling around a little might cheer her up.

Which made it particularly awkward that they could hear Peggy and Jarvis yakking down by the pool.

"Pity," she murmured as he was nuzzling her neck in a valiant effort to muscle through. "The rhythmic punching was actually rather soothing."

"Steve was in a mood at dinner," Bucky replied. "They might be fighting." Downstairs, the beating of the punching bag resumed.

Amanda sighed deeply, running her fingers through his hair. "Maybe. I think it was a frustrating day for all concerned."

The punching stopped, and after a moment of silence he grinned, and kissed his wife. They kept kissing until there was a loud splash from the pool. He lifted his head and sighed.

Amanda was frowning. "That doesn't make any sense." Nudging him, she started to sit up. "Peggy was fully dressed why would she -" They heard Peggy grunt, then cry out and the sound of something that was definitely not a punching bag.

He leapt up and ran to the window. It was hard to see what was going on under the tent top, but it was definitely a fight. Deciding it was faster than the stairs, he kicked out the window screen and swung his legs over the sill to jump down into the bushes. A gunshot echoed as he hit the ground.

A man in black ran past clutching a bleeding hand. Bucky didn't reach out for him because he was sure Peggy would fire again and he didn't want to get hit. Then the back door opened with crack of wood and shattered glass, and Steve sprinted past at his superhuman speed, catching the assailant halfway across the lawn.

The tackle alone might have been enough to snap the other guy in half. But after rolling in the grass a couple of times Steve managed to pin him and started punching. Maybe the first couple were justified but it quickly became obvious Steve wasn't holding back and was gonna turn the intruder into a bloody smear in a minute. So Bucky ran over and grabbed his arm. "Easy, man."

He stopped swinging his fists and just crouched there for a minute, breathing hard. Another tug on his arm got him to stand. His jaw clenched and he flexed his now bloody hands, looking down at them almost in surprise.

There were more running feet and Bucky glanced back to see Howard and Jarvis headed for them. Amanda was already crouching by Peggy, examining the bruise blooming on her throat. Bucky waved the other men away and turned back to Steve. "You with me?"

He nodded, and sighed heavily. He looked down at the man in the grass, and quietly asked, "Did I kill him?"

"He's breathing," Bucky told him. "Amanda will see to the rest. Come on." He tugged him towards the patio.

Peggy was standing up, and ran to him when he approached. Whatever he murmured to her, Bucky didn't hear.

Howard and Jarvis were standing over the intruder looking grim so Bucky gestured for Amanda to come over. She went without a word, doctor's bag in hand, and knelt in the grass to examine him.

Peggy and Steve were still hugging a few minutes later when she rocked back on her heels. "Concussion, broken nose, multiple broken ribs, two teeth knocked out, and a bullet hole in his right hand. All survivable. Though I should set the nose, bind the ribs, and disinfect the gunshot."

"He tried to strangle her," Jarvis said. 

"I need better security," Howard said. "I need an electrified fence and some guards. Lots of guards."

"Clearly Peggy's talk with Whitney touched a nerve," Amanda said. "She should ice her throat, by the way."

"We should take him inside," Howard said. "Much as I'd like to just leave him on the lawn."

"The cellar might be a nice spot," Jarvis said.

"Right, great," Bucky said. "One of you help me move him, I'm not asking Steve."

"I'll do it," Howard said. "Jarvis, go help the ladies get some ice." He nodded and went with Amanda to usher the other two inside.

Bucky took the guy's top half and Howard got the legs and together they hauled him up and down the basement steps. There was a cot down there—Bucky really didn't want to know why—so they tossed him on it. Howard found some rope to tie him to it.

"Is Rogers all right?" he asked.

"No fucking clue. He was in a foul mood at dinner. I thought he and Peggy were fighting about something, but this seems to run deeper than that."

"You should talk to him. Guys like you two can't afford to have an out of control temper."

Right, because confronting Steve about his emotions always worked out so well. Still, if he needed someone to wail on, Bucky was the best choice. "You got this?" he asked. At Howard's nod he turned and made his way upstairs to find the others.

Amanda was in the hall with her medical bag. "I should go make sure he doesn't die. Ana tucked Peggy on the couch with some ice and tea. Steve is in the kitchen scrubbing his hands." 

"Thanks." He paused to kiss her forehead. "You all right?"

She leaned on him a moment. "One foot in front of the other."

Yeah, he got that. He squeezed her tight and let her go, detouring to the kitchen. Steve stood at the sink, rinsing his hands. The water coming off was tinted pink. "What the hell, Steve?"

"He tried to kill her," he replied, his voice tight.

"I know. And I'm not judging. But usually you don't just right to beating the guy to a pulp. At least not since you had the ability to do so."

"People don't usually come to assassinate my wife." He was scrubbing his hands rather intensely. 

Bucky paused and decided to poke a little more. "You were in a foul mood before this, too. Something's eating you."

He sighed and braced his hands on the sink. "Amanda found some information in the Project Rebirth files about side effects no one told me about." He held up a hand. "They don't affect you."

That was intensely ominous, but probably all he was going to get out of him. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked quietly.

Steve shook his head. "No. But thank you." He turned. "Well, is there a towel somewhere in here?"

Bucky glanced around and yanked the dish towel off the handle of the refrigerator before handing it to Steve. "Thanks," he said. "I'm going to go check on Peggy."

"Amanda said she was lying down in the other room."

He nodded, and then he left. 

*

Peggy slept poorly, partially because her neck hurt, partially because she was worried about Steve, who seemed particularly upset by the whole thing. She supposed it must have been alarming to him, particularly being the second time in a very short period her life had been in danger. He woke up before her and had a run, and seemed in a better mood when he got back.

"Howard and Jarvis were up all night working on the estate security," he told her. "Even after Bucky and I went to bed."

That made her smile. "I feel safer already."

"The guy in the basement is still unconscious. Chief Sousa is downstairs, he says he has some information on Whitney Frost." He paused. "We didn't tell him about the guy in the basement yet."

She groaned and started to get out of bed. "Do you think we should? I prefer to maintain Daniel's plausible deniability as long as possible."

"At this point I'm not sure deniability would be plausible, even if we said nothing."

That was probably true. The line on her throat was certainly evidence that something had gone on last night. Jack Thompson would probably insinuate it was some sort of sex game gone wrong, just to be vulgar.

She dressed while Steve washed off the sweat his run had worked up and together they went down to see the others. The Barneses and Daniel were in the dining room working their way through an elaborate breakfast spread. As soon as Peggy smelled it her stomach growled and she grabbed a plate to load up.

"I was going to suggest you stick to soft foods," Amanda said, eyeing the pile of sausage on Peggy's plate. "But fear you might turn on me if I withheld food."

"I've eaten a full meal in far worse circumstances than this."

"What happened to your neck?" Daniel asked, and then the rest of them had to explain what had happened the night before. He got himself some food and considered it. "You know, that's really a special kind of stupid."

"Sending an assassin into a house with Peggy and Captain America?" Bucky said. "Yes, yes it was."

"Not just stupid," Peggy said thoughtfully. "Amateur."

"That was my thought," Daniel said. "Professional assassin—somebody like Dottie Underwood—looks at this place, a house full of people at least half of whom are probably armed, and two decorated special ops soldiers who can lift cars, and they don't come inside."

"Headshot from one of the trees," Amanda said.

Daniel pointed at her. "Exactly."

"Whitney Frost acted rashly," Peggy said. "She and her husband almost certainly have the means and money to hire someone professional. Instead they sent the man in the basement. I suspect because he was convenient. Which may mean he's worked with them before and could give viable information."

"You're going to interrogate him?" Amanda asked.

There was an odd tone in her voice. Peggy could guess the source. "You're about to tell me torture doesn't work, aren't you?"

"Torture works extremely well," she said, sipping her tea. "It's just that everyone does it wrong."

"No," Daniel said. "No torture. This is already probably a felony, don't make it worse."

Peggy glanced at him, then looked back to Amanda. "What did you have in mind?"

"The problem with torture is that it's mindless. Cause someone enough pain and they'll say whatever they think you want to make it stop." Bucky reached over and rubbed his wife's back gently. "Truth comes from taking away any other option. It's psychological. Convince him that telling us what we need to know is the only way of stopping an inevitable death and he'll break." She buttered toast thoughtfully. "I could do it without causing him any pain."

Daniel looked like he wanted to scoot his chair farther away from her. "You're a little terrifying, you know that?"

Always the focused pragmatist, Steve asked, "How?"

"Peggy shot his hand. Some local anesthetic and make up would accurately mimic gangrene. Tell him he gets penicillin once he tells us what we need to know."

Peggy nodded, impressed. "Sounds like a plan."

Howard appeared in the doorway, still wearing the same clothes he'd had on yesterday. "Morning. What'd I miss?"

"Amanda's going to play mind games with our guest in the basement to find out what he knows," Bucky said brightly.

"First I should tell you what I dug up," Daniel said. "You'll be particularly interested, Mr. Stark."

"Of course I will." He filled himself a plate. "Oh, before I forget, can I have your leg?"

Daniel's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Uh, no. I have things to do today." Howard had built Daniel a fully integrated prosthetic, much like Bucky's arm, before Daniel's transfer to California. It wasn't a complete replacement, but it had allowed Daniel to move from his crutch to a less cumbersome cane. Of course, being Howard, he always wanted to tinker with it.

"Howard," Amanda said calmly. "Once Chief Sousa tells us what he found you're going to bed and sleeping."

He waved a hand. "No sleep. Coffee."

"Sleep," she repeated. "Or tranquilizers."

"Fine," he said. He pointed at Daniel. "Go."

Clearly not used to the admittedly odd dynamic Amanda and Howard had, it seemed to take Daniel a moment to gather his thoughts. Then he shook his head and pulled out a file. "So I did some digging into Isodyne's history and hit pay dirt." He handed copies of the file to Peggy and Howard, then Amanda as an after thought. "An Okie named Agnes Cully. Isodyne's secret weapon."

"These are patents," Peggy said.

"Complicated ones," Howard agreed.

"Her work put Isodyne on the map during the war," Daniel continued. "She came up with the radio frequency modulators the allies used to send coded messages over enemy lines."

"So the brains behind Isodyne is a woman?" Peggy asked.

"Not just any woman." Daniel tossed a magazine on the table, with Whitney Frost on the cover. "Meet Agnes Cully."

Peggy reached out and studied the cover. "Every eye in the country is on her," she said, meeting Amanda's gaze. "And no one sees her."

"She did tell Dr. Wilkes she knew more about Zero Matter than anyone else."

"Fascinating," Howard said, gathering the patent papers. "I want to go show these to Wilkes." He glanced at Amanda. "Can I work a little more?"

She sighed and made a show of checking her watch. "Half an hour, then I'm coming in with the needle." He nodded, shoved a piece of toast in his mouth and hurried off. 

"I've never been more astonished by something in my life," Jarvis said faintly.

"He just needs a firm hand," Amanda said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "I'll get started on my interrogation, if no one needs anything else."

"I'll come with you," Peggy said.

"Want Steve or I to come loom menacingly?" Bucky asked.

"That might be useful. A little misdirection adds a great deal."

They all went downstairs, and waited while Amanda did some prep work for their charade. Then Peggy went up to get some smelling salts from Jarvis, and they woke their new friend up.

Amanda took a seat next to the cot. She had pulled her hair back from her face and when she spoke she was definitely playing up her accent. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Mister-?" He glared at her and didn't respond. Amanda shrugged lightly. "I was starting to worry your wouldn't wake up at all."

In a nasal voice, due to his broken nose, he said, "How long was I out?"

"Three days. Plenty of time for us to think of questions. Starting with your connection to Calvin Chadwick. And Whitney Frost. And the Arena Club."

"Or what? One of the boys back there will start knocking me around? Breaking some fingers?" He snorted, which had to hurt. "Lady, I fought in the Pacific. While Captain America back there was getting his knob polished in Europe the Japanese were tying my fingers to a Jeep and dragging my around the yard. You know what they got out of me? Exactly what you will. Squat." He spat at her feet for emphasis and the men in the room all stirred as if preparing to defend everyone's honor.

Amanda held up a and to stop them and smiled sadly. "My dear man. Why would I torture you when you're already dead?"

"You saying you're going to kill me?" He inclined his head. "You're the Nazi doctor, aren't you. I guess that fits."

Bucky moved and Peggy reached out, catching him by the shirt. He got particularly upset when people called Amanda a Nazi.

She smiled wider. "My reputation proceeds me. Delightful. Tell me, can you feel your right hand?"

His mouth opened, probably with another smart remark, then snapped shut. Straining against the ropes tying him to the cot he tried to look at it. "What the fuck did you do to my hand?"

"It's really more what I didn't do. You may remember that after you attempted to kill her, Mrs. Rogers shot you in the hand as you were running away." Peggy liked how she phrased that. 

Amanda continued, "And, well, in all the excitement, it seems like you weren't properly tended to." She pinched his sleeve with two fingers and lifted his hand so he could see the black shoe polish and various horrid shades of eye shadow she'd painted his hand and wrist with. "Gangrene is a nasty way to die, _mein Freund_. The tissue dies slowly, spreading farther and farther up the limb. Fever come eventually, which can be a blessing. I'm sure the delirium eases the pain when it reaches your organs." The man on the cot had gone pale. 

"Of course," she added thoughtfully. "At this stage a good dose of antibiotics can stop it in its tracks. Which I can give you. If you answer our questions." She tilted her head studying his arm. "I'd say you have a day to decide. Two, if you're not particularly attached to this arm." She grinned. "Get it? Attached. It's a joke."

Bucky wandered over, put his metal hand on Amanda's shoulder. It was hot, so he had a short-sleeved shirt on, and you could see most of the arm. "She's very good at amputations," he commented. "She did mine." He grinned widely.

Peggy could see on the man's face he clearly thought he was chained up in the basement of the looney bin. Which was perfect.

Amanda clapped her hands as she stood, making him jump. "Well, we'll give you some time to think it over."

They timed him. It took exactly 22 minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

The man—Hunt turned out to be his name—coughed up enough information for a warrant to raid the Arena Club. 

The _request_ for the warrant attracted the attention of someone higher in the government, someone who didn't want something unearthed, because suddenly the office was swarming with suits, who conveniently needed to audit the office and go through every file.

Amanda was so, so grateful she'd taken the Project Rebirth files home.

She spent an hour or so in labs, ostensibly helping Dr. Samberly find files as they were requested. As the suits dug deeper it became evident she was more hindrance than help, so she slipped out, heading upstairs to the bullpen to find Peggy and tell her she was returning to Howard's.

Peggy was at the far end of the room, helping Chief Sousa argue with two of the suits about something or other. Amanda sighed. Perhaps it was best to beat a hasty retreat.

"Dr. Barnes, is it?"

She turned to find a thin, balding man in an unimposing suit standing in the doorway of Sousa's office. He smiled and something about the expression reminded her of a reptile, cool and deadly. "You have me at a disadvantage."

"Vernon Masters. I'm the man who signs your paycheck."

Oh, that was promising. "Pleasure to meet you."

The smile widened a little. "May I have a minute?" He turned and gestured into the office, giving her little choice but to slip past him.

He closed the door behind him. "I'm told you're quite brilliant."

Sadly, this was not the first time in her life someone had said that and made it sound like an insult. "Yes. I am."

"Your research is quite interesting. And yet. . . not going in the direction we would like it to."

She arched her brows. "What direction were you hoping for?"

"You know how to make super soldiers. Don't you? And yet somehow you never quite manage to do that. It becomes suspicious after a while. Questions get asked. About your motives, about your loyalties."

Oh, now she saw where this was going. She wondered if she told him she'd spent the morning psychologically tormenting a man would make him change his tack. Instead, she chuckled.

"Is something funny?"

"Mmm. You know, many years ago, a man came to ask me to make super soldiers for him. His name was Schmidt and his soldiers wore uniforms, not suits." She gestured at the men causing chaos in the bullpen. "Make me soldiers, he said. And I said no. Do you know what he did? He shot my mother and my father in front of me and he had his soldiers drag me out. They brought me to his base and he said, 'make me soldiers' and I said no. So he locked me in a cage and sprayed me with water and refused to feed me. He showed me men he had captured and told me to make them into soldiers and I said no and tried to escape. I killed his men and they cut my face open and threw me back in my cage, where I stitched my face closed. It wasn't until I heard the screams of the men he was experimenting on and realized that I, at least, would treat them with mercy that I agreed to do anything. So, please, for both our sakes, save your threats and insinuations that I am a communist, or that my friends are. I have been threatened by far more powerful men than you."

His face turned angry, but the lack of calm meant she'd gotten to him. "You have no idea how powerful I am."

"I think I do. You have your puppets, your little intrigues. You know secrets and you know what strings to pull. But at the end of the day, you aren't the top of the mountain, are you? And whomever is uphill from you isn't going to let you lay a finger on me. Because if you kill me, or hurt me, or any of my friends, then you can kiss any hope of super soldiers goodbye, isn't that right? So witch hunt is really the only card in your pitiful little deck, isn't it?" His jaw tightened and she stepped closer, pressing her advantage. "Step out of my way, or I'll find a way to cause an avalanche."

"You think that's the only way I can hurt your friends? Maybe you spit in the face of Nazis, but they you're not the one who'll be publicly flayed."

No point in flinching now. "As my husband would say, I think we can take you." She reached past him and opened the door, forcing him to move. "And don't worry, my next pay check will be signed by Howard Stark."

Peggy was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, looking about as angry as she felt. 

"Did that _Sackgesicht_ talk to you as well?" Amanda asked her.

"Indeed he did," she said, voice full of British ice and false cheer. "He was full of. . ." she made a face. " _Something_."

Amanda could think of several words to fill in but she tamped them down. "I'm going home. Maybe I'll pummel that punching bag."

"I'll come with you. I'm on vacation so I've been asked to leave."

"Come. I will teach you colorful German things to call him."

She waited until they were in the car to ask, "So what threats were you offered?"

"He tried to imply I was a communist. I informed him I had been threatened far more effectively and it hadn't worked. Then he got angry."

"He implied I was a communist as well. I told him to piss off." She blew out a breath. "He pointed out I was not an American. Always with the deportation, right? I reminded him I married one. Then he smiled like I'd said the most wonderful thing."

"And he suggested you weren't the one with the most to lose." Amanda sighed. "Very specific script."

"I'm angry he rattled me. It was a very ugly picture. Public, national scandal. Hauling Steve before congress and stripping him of his medals. Calling all the commandos and everything they into question. Headlines above the fold."

It _was_ a very ugly picture. "I think that given the choice between that and us kowtowing to the SSR he would choose the ugly every time."

That made Peggy smile. "Yes, he would."

Relieved she'd made the right call, Amanda admitted, "I think I quit."

"Good for you," Peggy said immediately.

"I hope James sees it that way."

"I assume you're going to work for Howard? That's been nearly inevitable lately."

She thought of their conversation the other day, about children and staying home. "Yes, he hasn't stopped asking. It's just. . . complicated."

"How so?"

Sighing, she tipped her head back. "James doesn't make enough money for us to live on. When we have children someone will need to stay home with them. The assumption seems to be that will be me."

"That is unfortunate but unsurprising. Steve says he'll look after ours, but I realize he's an oddball. And they'll probably find that communist." She looked over at Amanda. "Doesn't help if they fire me when I get pregnant, which I half expect them to. Howard at least won't do that."

Clearly, she and Steve hadn't had a chance to talk. Amanda ignored the pang of guilt and kept her face neutral. "True. We've joked about having Steve watch them. I don't suppose that will help the oddball."

"Likely not, no."

They pulled into Howard's drive and climbed out, separating to find their husbands. She found James by the pool, sunning himself and tucked herself into the chaise lounge with him.

"You seem to be not raiding a club of rats and snakes," he commented.

The story tumbled out of her. Masters and the suits, the files, the threats, her quitting. "It was the right choice. And Howard will give me a position. But I'm sorry I did it without speaking to you."

He seemed to consider this. "Will we be moving to California?"

"I don't think so, unless we want to. He has labs in New York, as well. I imagine he'll be back once he gets this movie making thing out of his system."

"The pay will be better, won't it?"

"Significantly," she said with emphasis. "And at least seventy percent less corrupt, apparently."

"If I'm going to be a kept man, might as well do it in style."

Smiling, she pressed her face into his shoulder. "I love you."

He wrapped his arms fully around her. "I love you, too."

*

Of all the weird things that had gone on in Steve's life—and there had been plenty—he really never expected to have a morning where he jerked off into a cup, and handed it to his best friend's wife.

He hadn't said anything to Peggy yet. Part of him still hoped Amanda was wrong, and if that was the case, why upset her. It still felt somewhat dishonest, but she was so busy with everything going on, he wasn't sure she'd even noticed the bad mood everyone else kept poking him about.

They had a prisoner in the basement, a disembodied man floating in the lab, and their investigation was now completely, unequivocally off book, and possibly illegal. He couldn't really blame her for being distracted.

But, he had a new comic to work on, so he found himself somewhere quiet in the mansion to sit and draw.

He got over an hour of peace and quiet before there was a tap at the door and Peggy poked her head in. "Darling, could I pick your brain for a -" She stopped when she saw his sketchpad out. "Oh, you're busy. I'm sorry."

He offered her a smile. "Not at all, come on in."

Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her. "If you're sure."

"I married you, I like talking to you. And honestly, I'd love to be useful. This has gotten. . . dangerous."

"Is it the probable felonies or the industrial accident waiting to happen that most concerns you?" She sat across from him, patting his knee as she sat.

"Howard's his own problem. But we do have to do something about the man chained up in the basement." The man he'd come close to beating to death. He didn't know if Peggy had noticed that, or if anyone had mentioned it to her.

"Yes, that's what I came to run by you. Amanda's keeping him sedated and he's healing nicely. Daniel was finally able to escape the suits and smuggle some things out. We've been discussing letting him go. Well, letting him escape."

"You hoping he'll lead you to his masters?"

"I've had Jarvis and Bucky tailing Chadwick and he's done nothing suspicious. It's all visits to his campaign office and glad handing events. And there's been no sign of Whitney Frost for days. The movie she was working on has shut down and her director has disappeared." She frowned and propped her chin on her fist. "Without more information, or a clue as to what's going on, I'm dead in the water."

"If he's got lick of sense in him, he'll go straight to Mexico." He didn't ask why he hadn't been roped into this. He was too recognizable to do anything covert, unless the needed him as a diversion.

"If he had a lick of sense in him he wouldn't have tried to strangle Captain America's wife. He's lucky Bucky stopped you when he did."

So she had noticed. "Ah. Yes."

She reached over and touched his hand. If he were anyone else, he'd probably still have bruised knuckles. "I'm not going to lecture, because if I saw someone trying to kill you - especially so personally - I would not feel the need to hold back my rage."

He turned his hand over in hers. "The 'personally' was probably a gift. I can't stop a bullet."

"That's true." She smiled faintly and squeezed his hand. "God bless enemies without any sense."

"I think he's probably smart enough to slip a tail. I assume Stark has some sort of tracker or listening device?"

"Of course. We've been debating the best way to let it happen. If it's too easy even he might get suspicious."

"Fight his way out, past someone that he can overpower. He probably should believe Bucky and I at the least are out of the house. I don't think he's dumb enough to try and fight past us."

Her thumb rubbed the back of his hand idly. "I would need to be Daniel or Jarvis. I worry he'd try to finish the job on me or hurt Amanda out of spite."

"You keep bringing Jarvis into this stuff, he's going to end up dead."

She sighed deeply. "He _insists_. When I try to leave him out or have someone else do something he could feasibly do he acts wounded until something else comes along that he can help with." Her hand tightened on his. "I know it's dangerous but sometime I wonder if he does."

"I got myself into all sorts of shit I couldn't handle. Bucky had to come rescue me a lot."

"You don't say. That seems so unlike you."

Steve chuckled. "Yeah. Anyway, I'd send Sousa. Tell him to exaggerate the limp. Hunt will see an easy target."

She nodded, then smiled widely. "I admit, I do like when you're involved in my adventures. It's nice having you to bounce things off of. A fresh perspective."

"Be careful," he told her. "On your adventures. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Of course, my darling." She half stood to lean over and kiss him. He caught her hands, holding her close a moment longer than.

When they separated she studied his face a moment, brow creased. "Are you all right, Steve?"

"I'm fine," he said, even though it was a lie, and he was a terrible liar. "You have bigger things to worry about."

Her frown deepened, clearly seeing through him. "Because you would tell me if something was troubling you."

"I sit around with a lot of time to think. It isn't a topic we haven't visited before, and we _genuinely_ do no need to worry about it in the middle of a mission. It's a marathon, not a sprint."

Understanding lit her eyes and she looked sad, then kissed him again lightly. "All right," she said softly.

"Go fight the bad guys," he told her.

She nodded and stood, dropping a kiss on the top of his head. For a moment she looked as if she'd say something more, then just shook her head and left.

*

Hunt had been festooned with a hidden listening device, which was broadcasting his comings and goings into the lab. The rest of them were there, listening to what was currently the worlds dullest radio program. At the moment, he was pissing.

Bucky was sitting on the couch down there, trying not to think about what Howard might have used that couch for. Sousa was sitting next to him, stuck on the couch because Hunt had damaged his prosthetic leg in the escape, and now it was on Howard's workbench, while he and Amanda and Wilkes all fussed over it.

"He's putting in the upgrades, isn't he?"

Bucky looked over at him. "Probably. The little heater thing is really handy. Especially on cold mornings."

"Having a leg I have to plug in at night is a little weird, you have to admit."

"But then your wife will have somewhere to stick her freezing feet," he replied, absolutely not talking about something _his_ wife did. "Do you have a wife?"

"Not yet. I will. Hopefully."

From across the room where she was fiddling with the radio, Peggy called, "Have you seriously not done it yet?"

"We've been a little busy!" Sousa replied defensively.

Amanda looked up. "You have a woman?"

"Violet," Peggy said, in that conspiratorial way she and Amanda had sometimes. "Lovely girl. Brought cookies to the office. You'd like her, she's a nurse."

Steve pointed at Sousa. "Make sure you have pants on."

"I concur," Bucky added. Though, really, neither of them had.

"I do not want to hear the stories attached to that," Sousa said.

Not looking up from whatever he was doing to the leg, Howard added, "I can give this thing a vibrating feature if that would seal the deal, chief."

" _Howard_ ," Amanda and Peggy said in unison.

"Hey," he said to Amanda. "You're the one that asked—" She put her hand over his mouth and stopped the rest of that sentence. Bucky could feel his cheeks heating.

"You people are so very strange," Wilkes said. "And that's coming from someone existing on another plane of existence."

"This is pretty typical," Howard told him. "You should make peace with that if you're going to come work for me. Though you'll probably be working for this one," he added, hooking a thumb at Amanda. "She's got a whole division to staff up."

She blinked at him. "I do?"

"Of course you do," he said like it was obvious.

"You're giving me an entire division?"

"Stark BioMedical. I've got my lawyers finding a building right now."

"Where?" Bucky asked.

"New York." He looked up and made a face. "Well, New Jersey, more likely but she can commute. Unless you want to move out here, in which case, tell me now."

"We live in Brooklyn," he replied. "That's not a fun commute."

"I can have them look at . . . Long Island," he replied, curling up his lip like the snob he was. "But it'll need space. R&D isn't something you want to do without space around you."

Amanda was still looking back and forth from one to the other. "You're giving me an entire division."

Howard made a face. "We were constantly building more elaborate weapons during the war. The war is over and the appetite has only increased. And that's fine, it's great money. Soviets are evil, blah blah. But we blow up people and we bring them home missing parts and what does the VA provide?" He gestured at the leg. "Two pieces of metal and a hinge. They put more engineering into the coffee pots in the officer's mess. That's bullshit."

"So you want me to build prosthetics?"

He shrugged. "That. Your serum. Whatever else comes to your little brain. You think like me, Doc, whether you admit it or not. Eventually you'll get the serum sorted out and then you'll need to move to the next thing. Maybe we'll regrow limbs, or cure cancer, or make a better mousetrap. All I know is I want you to have the men and means to get it done."

Bucky wasn't sure, but he had the distinct impression Amanda was about to start crying. Which was pretty out of character for her, but then Howard had just handed her her every dream come true. Seemed the time for an emotional outburst. Which she'd probably hate herself for later.

She was saved by a crackle on the radio and Whitney Frost's voice, "What happened, Mr. Hunt?"

"You know that SSR agent you sent me to take care of? You didn't tell me she was married to Captain America."

"Well we sent you to deal with her not him. And that was days ago! Where have you been?"

The rest of them had huddled around the radio, but Amanda seemed to still be processing what Howard had said. Bucky got up and went to her. "You okay?"

She shook her head a little but smiled, eyes bright behind her glasses. "I just. . . I had assumed I would be just another lab coat, as I've always been. I never imagined-"

"That somebody else might notice how brilliant you are?"

"And reward me for it." He dug out a handkerchief and handed it to her so she could dab her eyes. "It's very overwhelming."

"I know," he said. He couldn't believe she was crying. If you looked up Stoic German Reserve in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Amanda's face. "But you deserve it."

She nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure she believed him, then wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his shoulder. Probably to hide said tears from the others. He rocked her. On the radio, Hunt was threatening to rat Whitney and Chadwick out to the council. Idiot.

Peggy sighed. "Howard, will that transmitter survive a gunshot?"

"Long as the bullet doesn't go right through it. Not sure how exciting listening to him get buried is going to be."

Cutting through Hunt and Chadwick's posturing came Frost's voice, soft and cajoling, "Sweetheart, I have to show you something."

Amanda lifted her head and turned to look at the radio. They all listened, frozen, as Frost talked about making mistakes. Then Hunt grunted in pain and a quiet rumbling rattled through the radio speakers.

"Whitney?" Chadwick sounded terrified. "Whitney what is this? Whitney stop!"

Hunt screamed, and then the signal cut out.


	7. Chapter 7

"I know where Jane Scott's body is."

Peggy had opened her door that morning to Dr. Wilkes hovering outside. He told her the zero matter was calling to him.

"This case is getting weirder by the minute," Steve muttered.

"I don't disagree," she said over her shoulder. "Right. Dr. Wilkes, I will rally the others and we will meet you in the lab where you can explain how you know this and where it is."

"Howard and Dr. Barnes are already down there." He paused. "They haven't slept. They were there when it happened."

Peggy was starting to wonder if this was one of those days she should have stayed in bed. It did not improve when she had to go break in to the county cold storage facility. The small amount of zero matter in a tissue sample that Daniel had swiped for them had turned him tangible, for just a moment. Amanda and Howard agreed with him that if they could get the zero matter out of Jane Scott's body, they might be able to make it permanent.

She needed muscle to steal a body, so she took Steve with her. She thought it would be simple, but Whitney Frost beat her there.

They watched through a cracked door as the other woman sucked the zero matter out of the corpse, just as Dr. Wilkes had hoped to do. When she finished, she shuddered, with a look of bliss that was borderline orgasmic. Then she turned to an obviously out of his depth Calvin Chadwick and said, "I need an atomic bomb."

Yes, this day was only getting worse.

"She's trying to replicate the original experiment," Dr. Wilkes said back in Howard's lab. "Take a bomb to the same spot in the desert and attempt to reopen that rift, or whatever it was. I can't emphasize this enough: we cannot let her do that."

"Then we'll stop her," Steve said, sounding very Captain America.

"She need the same bomb," Howard said. "The one used in the original test."

"How are we going to find that?" Peggy asked, not really expecting him to know.

"Roxxon has it. I keeps tabs on them." She gave him a look and he shrugged. "Hugh Jones annoys me."

"And we add corporate espionage to your list of sins," Amanda murmured.

"In any case, there's a place a few miles out of town. Security is off the charts. That'll be the best bet for atom bomb storage."

"So we need to beat her to it." Stealing an atomic bomb. This is where her life had gotten her.

Jarvis cleared his throat politely. "When we say security is high. . ."

Peggy sighed. "What do I need to steal?"

Kneeling over an unconscious, lecherous CEO that made Howard look like a choir boy was a new low. Because where else would a man like that keep the key to his super secret vaults but his belt buckle?

When she got back to the lab with her ill-gotten but well-earned prize, she found the rest of them huddled around a map of the Roxxon facility. Steve waved her over. "Here's what we've got," he told her, in a tone of voice that brought her right back to the war and a dozen strategy meetings held over similar maps. "According to Howard and Jarvis's intel, this road is left empty - used as a runway for private planes. We've got a minimum of four guards patrolling the perimeter, plus an electrified fence."

"Naturally," she said, because why wouldn't there be?

"Once inside," he continued. "We'll need to find the freight elevator and use your key-" She lifted it and he gave her a fast kiss. "Well done - to get down to the lower levels and find the classified item storage."

"And then all we need to do worry about is diffusing a bomb," she finished brightly.

"I don't think you actually have to worry about it," Dr. Wilkes offered. "Dr. Barnes has the steadiest hands I've ever seen."

"Surgery training does that." Amanda and Sousa were huddled over what appeared to be a mock up of said bomb, practicing. "And Chief Sousa here is experienced in bomb diffusing."

"Reconnaissance scout," he confirmed, not looking up. "We got this."

"Unfortunately," Bucky chimed in. "That's all the intel we've got. Howard's boys have never gotten inside. Once we're in we're blind. And this is an awfully small crew to be pulling this off with."

"There isn't anyone at the SSR we can trust," Steve said.

Peggy tilted her head. "That's not entirely true."

Sousa lifted his head and met her gaze. "No."

"She's received the same training as you and I."

"Peggy-"

Amanda set the salami she had been transporting into a briefcase and looked up. "Are you talking about Rose? I love Rose."

"The secretary?" Bucky asked.

"She can handle any security guard they have," Peggy said confidently. 

"This is dangerous," Daniel said. "I can't concentrate on this if I'm worried about her getting hurt."

She gaped at him a moment. "Would you care to explain that statement? Because I'm seeing Daniel Sousa but I'm _hearing_ Jack Thompson."

"Ooo." Bucky whistled. "Low blow."

"I say we take her," Steve said. "She used to a bouncer at a burlesque club." They all looked at him. "I was waiting for Peggy one day and we got talking about fighting drunks in alleys."

Peggy clapped her hands. "That's settled, then. Daniel, go retrieve her. The rest of us can put together whatever gadgets Howard has that might help us."

"You can have my toys, but I'm not coming," he piped up. "I don't do field work."

"That's fine," Amanda told him. "You'll probably just see yourself in a mirror and get distracted.''

"When you work for me you're not going to be able to mock me this way." 

"Yes, I will."

They hammered out a plan. They changed and packed their gear. As they were loading the car, Steve was grinning like she hadn't seen him do in a while. "This is familiar," he commented, punching Bucky in the arm.

"It does have a certain nostalgia to it," he agreed. "We used to be able to bring guns, though."

"We can't be shooting around uranium rods," Peggy said.

"It's more fun without guns," Steve said. "I think."

"You would."

It was an excruciatingly long drive out to the storage facility, especially crammed in the back of a van with Sousa, Steve, Bucky, and Amanda. Rose and Jarvis rode in the front, playing the role of lost newlyweds to a tee. Amanda looked vaguely car-sick and Peggy made a mental note to put her in the front of the van next time.

Getting inside wasn't that hard. Security that intimidated Howard Stark didn't mean security that intimidated her and Steve and Bucky. Finding, infiltrating, and sabotaging secret buildings full of secret weapons was pretty much the Howling Commandos' specialty.

They hadn't exactly decided Steve was in charge, but it happened anyway. She knew he didn't always like this as the thing he was the world class at, but it was at times very, very handy.

She was just starting to have the sense that this was too easy when the elevator doors opened to reveal a dead guard and a maze of doors with red lights on them.

"Frost appears to have beaten us here," Daniel said, step siding the guard.

"Then we'd better move quickly." Peggy looked up and down the hallway. "Though how to begin I have no idea."

Jarvis, of all people, thought to find a utility room and disengage the locks. Logic dictated that the highest security room would have the bombs in it and they made their way there. Rose peeled off to deal with one of Frost's people. Peggy felt a small thrill of pride at the sound of punches being thrown that echoed behind them.

Once in the room with the bombs Amanda and Daniel went to work and the rest of them stood guard at the doorway.

"Have you proposed to Violet yet?" she demanded, with nothing to do now but wait.

"Yes," he replied. Amanda was doing the physical work while he spotted her, in case of any unforeseen complications.

"Were you wearing pants?" Bucky asked.

" _Yes_. Though I sort of misplaced the ring."

"How do you misplace the ring?" Amanda asked, slowly lifting a uranium rod out of its housing.

"Concentrate on your work."

"I assure you, I can do both."

"It fell out of my pocket. We started looking for it and then it spilled out, and she said yes. Then we got distracted. We did find it in the couch later and she had me put it on her finger." He made the oddest face.

"Let me guess," Steve said from the doorway. "No pants then?"

"I proposed to Ana fully dressed," Jarvis commented.

Peggy closed her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Jarvis. That was extremely relevant information."

"Considering the amount of overshare going on in this—"

"Dammit Cal we are not leaving until I find those rods!"

The distant voice made them all turn. "That was Frost," Peggy said. She glanced at Steve. "Feel like dispensing some marital advice?"

He offered his arm, like they were going to a dance. "Sounds like fun."

"Hold down the fort," she told Bucky, before taking Steve's arm and heading down the hall with him.

They followed the sound of the arguing, taking care of a couple of goons they encountered on the way. Whitney and Chadwick were alone when they finally found them.

"I need them, Cal," Whitney was saying.

Far be it from Peggy to resist a good opening. "Pity, I'm afraid you're not going to get them."

She turned her rage at Peggy. " _You_ ," she snarled.

"There seems to have been a large misunderstanding," Chadwick started, attempting to sound reasonable. Though he was looking over her shoulder instead of at her. It was a second before she realized he wasn't talking to her, he was talking to Steve, who was behind her.

"Shut up, Cal," Frost snapped. She, was looking directly at Peggy.

For that, Peggy gave gave her one chance to come quietly. "Ms. Frost. I believe you've been exposed to a substance that is altering your physiology."

"Don't talk to me about things you don't understand."

Though she was looking forward to kicking her face in. "If you come with us, the SSR can help you."

"I don't need help. I've never felt more powerful in my life." Whitney lunged at her, and Peggy dodged her. Then she hit her, with the same punch that had knocked Jack Thompson out. Whitney's head snapped back, and then she turn and smiled. "I thought that would hurt more."

That was . . . concerning.

Peggy's radio, now on the floor, crackled to life. "We've got the rods, we're heading out," Bucky said.

"Why you interfering—" Whitney broke off.

"Last chance," Peggy tried, not that she thought there was even the slightest chance she'd take the offer. Based on that, and on what they'd heard with Hunt, it seemed likely Whitney had been imbued with some sort of super strength with her zero matter infection. She met Steve's eyes, and he nodded.

"Same to you, Agent Rogers." Whitney stepped forward and Steve intercepted her. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, where his black shirt had ridden up. She strained, vein bulging in her forehead. Her hand began to thread black and Steve jumped a little.

And then nothing happened.

Frost frowned, releasing his arm to peer at her hand. "What-"

Steve hit her, and she staggered back. Peggy could _see_ he'd pulled the punch, and couldn’t entirely blame the instinct. She was fragile looking, and a movie star, and he wasn't exactly accustomed to hitting women. Still full force might have knocked her out. Whitney let out a yell and barreled at him, grabbing both of his arms this time. She scuffled a little, Steve still apparently trying to be gentle. She got her hands on either side of his head and now both arms were full of black lines. It looked like even her eyes were turning black.

She made a noise of rage and exertion, but nothing happened.

Chadwick took a hesitant step forward. "Whitney, darling. Maybe-"

With a little shriek, Frost released Steve. "Why doesn't it work?"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Peggy stepped forward. "Whitney Frost, you're under arrest-"

"No!" She lashed out, smacking her in the face, far harder than someone her size should have. Peggy stumbled back a few steps. On the last step, there was nothing under her foot but air.

Steve reached for her, and she reached for anything. There was nothing there and she fell, pain exploding in her side, and then everywhere else. Dimly, she heard Steve call her name. She thought she saw him above her, very far away, before the pain greyed her vision.

*

"She needs a hospital."

"If we take her to a hospital there'll be questions, forms. It'll be child's play for the council to find her."

"So you want to let her bleed out and save them the trouble?"

"What is the point of dragging a doctor to these things if she can't stitch up a wound?"

Amanda grit her teeth and shoved the last of the gauze she'd had in her bag into Peggy's wounds. "Everyone shut up," she snapped, silencing the argument that had been raging around the back of the van. "The rebar missed her vital organs. With good light and some supplies I can stitch her up without a hospital. But I need help. So unless you have a _second_ medical doctor hanging around-"

"Close," Sousa said from the front. "Make a left there," he told Jarvis, and the car made a sharp turn. 

Peggy moaned and Steve, who had her head in his lap, stroked her hair. "Amanda. . ."

"Just keep pressure," she said firmly. A minute later the car stopped, and Sousa leapt out. She looked up. "Where the hell are we?"

"He'll be right back," Jarvis called.

The back of the van opened to reveal Sousa and a slight blonde woman in a dressing gown. "Dr. Barnes, this is Violet, my fiancée. She's a nurse."

Violet climbed in and kneeled on the other side of Peggy. Nursing covered a whole lot of things, not all of them useful in a situation like this. "You were in the war?" Amanda asked, hoping for the best.

"90th Field Hospital. Aleutian Islands and Papua New Guinea." She gave a little two-fingered salute that reminded Amanda a little of Steve. "I've had both frostbite and malaria," she added, reaching over to take over the wound pressure from Steve, whose hands were shaking. 

Sometimes fate smiled at her. "Excellent. Drive Jarvis." The van lurched forward and Amanda caught Violet up on the wound and the actions she'd already taken. 

When they reached Howard's she and the men carried Peggy to the dining room table while Jarvis ran for the lab to get her supplies. She and Violet scrubbed their hands thoroughly, then began to work.

Peggy was incredibly stoic, not that Amanda was surprised. She screamed during the wound cleaning and James had to take Steve outside. 

"Sorry," Peggy whispered as she caught her breath before they rolled her over to stitch her back.

"I've seen 200lb Marines shriek for a whole lot less," Violet said. 

She grimaced in pain as they turned her. "And for dragging you out in your curlers."

Violet smiled, bracing her as Amanda stitched. "Nonsense. I've missed piecing people together in terrible circumstances."

"You see Peggy?" Amanda said. "You and the boys get nostalgic for punching people. We medics miss the smell of blood and antiseptic." She tied off her last stitch and nodded to Violet. Her nurse handed over the fresh gauze and tape Jarvis had found her, and she bandaged the wound before easing Peggy back down.

It was not her longest, or hardest surgery. But it was one of only two she had preformed on someone she cared about, and certainly the only one with Captain America pacing in the wings. Soon however, the muscle and skin was stitched, the wounds were clean and bandaged and she and Violet let the boys back in while they cleaned up. "Don't lift her," she warned Steve. "You'll pull the stitches. She should be carried flat."

"I can walk," she mumbled. 

"Not a chance," Steve replied lightly. He and James began discussing the logistic of getting Peggy to bed.

"Step two," Amanda said to the room in general. "Someone need to break into a pharmacy and steal some penicillin."

Jarvis cleared his throat awkwardly. "That. . . won't be necessary."

Heads turned to look at him and Amanda sighed. "Oh, Howard."

"Oh, don't raid Howard's VD stash on my account," Peggy said weakly. "I'd never forgive myself if he was poorly supplied."

"You know I'm a giver, Pegs," he said, unfazed as usual.

Amanda shook her head indulgently. "I'd like to get a dose in you tonight, to get a jump start on any infection. That rebar was filthy."

"I had the tetanus vaccine during the war," Peggy said. "They gave field agents the same as soldiers."

"That does make it less likely you'll die," Violet commented.

"We're ready to move her," Steve said.

"Get her settled in bed. I'll be there in a moment." Steve and James lifted her and carried her gingerly towards the bedrooms. Amanda turned to Violet. "Thank you, very much."

"You're welcome." Sousa stepped forward and slid and arm around her. "Daniel has told me stories about you all but I thought he was exaggerating."

Amanda smiled. "We are as larger than life as we appear. I hope to meet you again under better circumstances. For now, I'm sure Howard will offer you guest rooms, if you don't want to drive."

"I was just about to," he confirmed from somewhere over her shoulder. "Jarvis went to fuss over Peggy, but I can show you."

Sousa and Violet had one of those silent conversations couples have, then nodded and followed Howard down the hall, leaving Amanda alone.

Exhaustion overwhelmed her and she sank down into one of the dining room chairs, burying her face in her hands. She sat there, until she felt James touch her shoulder. "You were amazing," he said quietly.

She nodded and scrubbed her hands over her eyes. She was tired and crashing on adrenaline. It had to be near dawn. It was perfectly natural to feel like she was coming apart at the seams. "An inch. Half an inch. And she would have died before we got her to the car. She does these things - you all do these things and expect me to pull you together and I'm not a magician."

He tugged on her arm until she stood, so he could hug her. "Come to bed."

"I should go check on her," she protested, leaning on his chest.

"You should sleep. You keep staying up for science, and spend all day looking exhausted. Steve will wake us if there are any problems. You know he will."

That was true. Steve would be a very attentive nursemaid. As would Jarvis, if he needed someone to take over. She nodded. "All right."

"Would you like me to carry you?"

"I would not protest."

He scooped her up, and tucked her against his chest. "If you weren't a magician," he said, "I wouldn't be able to do this, right now."

She sighed softly and closed her eyes as he carried her through the house. "That was different."

"No, it's not. You don't have to do everything. Doing something none of us can do is more than plenty."

She didn't have the heart to point out that if there ever came a time when she couldn't do everything, when the tricks she had in her bag weren't enough, then it would mean losing someone. Likely someone they all cared about.

"Also," he said, bumping their door open with his hip. "We would still do these dangerous things without you. We'd just die more."

That surprised a little laugh out of her. "You make a compelling argument."

He set her down by the bed, and helped her undress. Her clothes were blood-soaked and confining, and it was a relief to get out of them. "I don't think even Jarvis can save these."

"Just burn them," she said, sinking onto the bed so he could take her shoes off. "They will bring up bad memories." Blood had soaked through to her underthings, too. James helped her out of them and they went into the burn pile. Then he found her a nightgown and tucked her in.

The last thing he took off were her glasses, carefully folding them and putting them on the nightstand by the bed. She smiled. "Are you joining me?"

He nodded, and she watched him undress. "I'm as tired as you." He didn't look tired. Moving with his usual smooth grace. It really was a pleasure to watch him. He climbing into bed in just a pair of pajama pants, tugging her against him.

Sighing in contentment, she let the stress of the day ease out of her. "Goodnight, James."

"I am so proud of you," he whispered.

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and she blinked them away. "Thank you."

He kissed her temple. "G'night, Manda."


	8. Chapter 8

Steve didn't sleep much. Sharing the bed with Peggy made bumping her injury too likely. So he settled in an armchair beside the bed and dozed, jerking awake at every groan or sigh. Sometimes when he closed his eyes he saw her again, falling backwards away from him, and that pipe going through her body. Then he would sit and watch her, the rise and fall of her breathing, and reassure himself she was alive.

She woke in the early morning, after only a few hours, frowning and pawing at her side as if she could shoo the pain away.

He leapt up from his chair. "Honey, don't touch it."

She seemed to remember where she was and what had happened, because she let her hands fall and looked up at him. "I was rather hoping it was all a bad dream."

He swallowed. "Yeah, me too." He peeled back the covers gently, just to check the dressing. He'd been shaken awake twice in the night by Violet and Jarvis for dressing changes, and it was probably due soon. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Far better than you might expect." He gave her a look. "That doesn't mean I feel good." She lifted a hand and touched his cheek. "I'm sorry I frightened you."

"You really did," he said, to upset and exhausted to be anything but honest.

She let her hand fall, sighing and shifting uncomfortably. "We live dangerous lives."

" _You_ live a dangerous life. I just watch."

It was probably a testament to how tired and weak she was that she didn't argue. "I'm sorry, darling," she said quietly.

"It's all right," he said, reaching to brush the hair off her forehead. "I knew what I was getting into when I married you."

She chuckled and winced, hands fluttering. "I suppose you'll get to fuss over me a bit. Keep me out of trouble."

"I will be an excellent nursemaid," he told her sincerely.

She smiled and reached to curl her fingers around his hand. "I know you will. For now, do you think you could find out if I can have more pain killer? It's moved from terrible to excruciating.'

"Yes. Of course. Stay here." He stood and went into the hallway. He wasn't sure who was where, and he didn't want to wake Amanda. Surely Howard had some way to summon Jarvis, as he didn't seem like the type to stroll down the hall when he needed something.

He was still glancing around for a bell pull or buzzer or something when he spotted Mrs. Jarvis at the other end of the hallway. She saw him at the same moment and smiled, changing direction to come his way. "Captain Rogers. You look lost. Can I help?"

"Good morning. Peggy needs more medicine."

"Oh, of course! Dr. Barnes came into the kitchen with instructions about an hour ago before her husband hustled her back to bed. Come, come." She waved at him and they went down to the kitchen together where they found an array of bottles and two pages of notes in Amanda's neat hand.

Jarvis was at the counter cracking eggs. "Captain Rogers! It's good to see you up. Can in interest you in some breakfast?"

He was _starving_ , and the eggs smelled delicious. "I just need Peggy's medication."

"Of course, it's on the table. Pink is the penicillin and white is for pain. There are also feeding instructions." He gestured at the stove. "I have a pot of broth going as soon as she's up for it."

"And then you'll have some eggs," Mrs. Jarvis said firmly. 

He read Amanda's instructions, and found the painkillers and antibiotics. Howard had quite the pharmacy. "I'm fine, really."

"Dr. Barnes left me instructions for you," Mrs. Jarvis said, waving another piece of paper. "It said you require ten thousand calories a day and you must have breakfast. There were threats. In German."

Steve made a noise. "It's more like 8,000," he replied. "Especially not doing a whole lot of physical activity."

"It still requires breakfast," Jarvis said. "Go give your wife her medications, then come eat. We've got ham and french toast in the ovens."

His stomach growled. "All right, all right."

The Jarvises looked quite pleased with themselves as he left the kitchen. He brought the medications back to his room and helped Peggy sit up enough to take them. She was still pale, but looked better than she had the night before. "Thank you, darling," she said with a sigh, easing back on the cushions.

"Last night. . ." he started, and Peggy raised an eyebrow. "She tried to. . .do something to me."

"Yes," she said quietly, eyes haunted. "I imagine whatever she did to Mr. Hunt."

"I felt it all over my skin. Like something was trying to invade me. It was like a thousand tiny needles."

She reached out to touch his hand. "But you resisted it."

"Not really consciously. I think my body did that."

"You should tell Team Science about it."

"I will. When you are feeling a little better. I don't want to be distracted."

Closing her eyes, she nodded. "I think the pills may be taking effect."

"I've been ordered to eat breakfast." He leaned over to kiss her brow. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I'm glad the others will take care of you while I rest."

He tucked the blankets around her, and then went back out to the kitchen. An impressive breakfast spread had been set out for him. Jarvis really was a very good cook. He took a seat and Mrs. Jarvis started piling up a plate for him before he could say a word.

"Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee please, black."

Jarvis brought it over and Steve began to dig in. "You just missed Chief Sousa and Miss. Violet," Jarvis commented. "Apparently she had a shift at the hospital this morning, so he drove her home."

"We should send her some flowers," Steve said around a mouthful of food. 

"I will discuss it with Mr. Stark when he awakes. He has several go-to morning after gifts that might suffice."

"Of course he does." He started in on the french toast. He should be talking while eating, but he was hungry and didn't want to be away from Peggy for too long. "I have something I need to talk to him about, too."

"I will be sure to let you know when he finally emerges."

The kitchen door swung open to reveal Bucky and Amanda. "I have slept six hours," she was protesting. "I need food."

"A restless six hours," Bucky muttered.

"Still sufficient for my needs. Thank you, Jarvis," she added, accepting the cup of tea he held out for her.

"You still look exhausted," Bucky said.

"I can't disagree," Jarvis added mildly.

"As I imagine all we're doing today is licking our wounds, I promise to take it easy. However I am hungry and I have a patient that needs checking on and a dressing change." She sank into the chair across from Steve and started loading her plate.

"Thank you for last night," he said quietly.

She nodded. "Peggy was very lucky. A fraction of an inch and there would have been nothing I could do."

He'd expected that, logically—he'd been to war—but it hit him like a punch in the gut anyway. So he just nodded and looked down at his plate.

There was a heavy silence for a moment, then Amanda said softly, "I apologize. My bedside manner is not what it should be."

"I've never wanted anything sugar coated, Amanda. Don't apologize."

"I generally prefer not to upset my friends."

"It's all right, really. I ate all my food, you mind if I go back in there or will there be German yelling?" He offered her a smile so she'd know he was teasing.

She waved a hand. "Go on. I'll be in once I've eaten."

Peggy was sleeping, and very still. He stretched out next to her on the bed, careful not to actually touch her. In her sleep she turned her head toward him, like she could sense him. He bent his head and touched his forehead to hers. She'd probably resent his urge to wrap her up and keep her safe, so he never gave it voice. But times like this it was particularly strong.

They lay like that until Amanda came in and changed the dressing on the wound. Peggy woke up in the middle of it, reaching out and holding Steve's hand tightly, the only sign of how much it hurt.

"Looks good," Amanda declared, setting the dirty bandages on the floor before taping the fresh on. "No signs of infection, swelling is minimum. If we can get some broth in you I'll consider this a rousing success."

"When can I get back to work?" she asked.

"Peggy. . ." he started.

"Skipping the reminder that ten hours ago you had a piece of rebar bisecting you, I will allow you to sit in a normal chair in about a week. Running around LA kicking bad people in the face is going to be much, much longer."

"Whitney Frost has to be stopped," she said.

"The rest of us are still here," Steve said. "I used to be pretty good at this sort of thing once upon the time."

Peggy looked over at him, obviously unhappy. "I suppose we have left actual espionage in the dust. I just. . . hate to be idle."

"I know. But you need to heal. And we can bring strategy sessions to you. We still need your brain."

Her frown was dangerously close to a pout. She looked over at Amanda who was finishing her bandaging dispassionately. "Weeks?"

"If you don't want to be permanently crippled. Yes." 

She tried to sit up a little, moaned a little in pain and fell back. Steve caught her so it wasn't too jarring. "All right, okay."

"I suppose I can be the brains of the operation for a while," she grumbled.

Amanda resettled her pajamas and blankets. "I'll have someone bring you some broth and tea."

*

"It's really important I talk to her."

Bucky stared Howard down and glared at him. He was guarding the outside of their bedroom door, because Amanda had finally crashed, and he wanted her to sleep.

"Five minutes," he begged. "She won't even have to sit up."

"She's not injured. I don't want her woken up."

"I really think she'd want to hear this. And I need some doctor advice." He shrugged. "You know how mad she gets when I screw up things in her area of expertise."

"Like the stimulant that accidentally made cannibals?" Bucky asked, annoyed because he was probably going to have to wake his wife up.

"Technically, no one ate anybody. But yeah, that."

The door yanked open behind him, and a bleary eyed Amanda demanded, "What did you do?"

"Good morning! Not what I did, but what I need to do. I'm trying this whole permission instead of forgiveness thing, here. Give me a little credit."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She hadn't even bothered to put on glasses or a robe. "Fine, _mein lieber Freund und Kupferstecher_. What do you want to do?"

"Steal some of the zero matter out of Whitney Frost's body."

She stared at him a moment, blinking slowly. Then she said, " _Nein_ ," and started to close the door.

"I think I can make Dr. Wilkes solid again," Howard said before she could click it shut. He reached to catch it but Bucky wouldn't let him.

It stopped with an inch to go, stayed ajar a moment, then she opened it again. "You would need a way to pull it out instantaneously, preferably low-pain, and then contain it long enough to get back here. That's assuming anyone could get close enough to Frost to do it."

"That is Peggy's problem." Amanda made a face and he held up his hands. "She's on the couch. Steve carried her down. Wilkes and I are working on the containment chamber, but I need help with the syringe-thing."

"I thought it was just a question," Bucky complained.

"The question was to get her interested enough to come help."

Amanda sighed deeply. "Are you planning on going to get the blood tonight?"

Howard frowned. "No. Last I heard Peggy was having Jarvis find out all the social events Chadwick was signed up for."

"Good. Then designing the syringe can wait until I've slept more."

"But, Doc -"

She reached out and clapped a hand on Howard's shoulder. From the way he flinched Bucky was pretty sure she was pinching him. "Howard. The last man who caused me this level of sleep deprivation was a Hydra agent. He was also one of the man I stabbed while getting this scar. I will leave it to you to decide if there was a correlation. I will come find you when I wake up."

He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Sounds great."

"Good." She nodded, released him and went back in the room, closing the door firmly.

Howard cleared his throat and tugged his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles she'd made. "You're a lucky man, Barnes."

He grinned back. "I absolutely am." Howard slapped him on the back on his way down the hall, presumably to return to his mad science.

Amanda slept for a couple of hours while he stood sentinel. When she emerged, she looked quite a bit better.

"Don't tell me what time it is," she said, going on tiptoes to kiss him. "It will just depress me."

"You needed the sleep." He studied her face. "You've been kind of off lately. I'm starting to worry."

"It has been an unusually exiting few days," she pointed out.

"True." He put an arm around her. "You up for the peanut gallery?"

"I am. I've always wanted to invent a new syringe."

Down in the lab, they had Peggy propped up on pillows on the couch, so he went and got a chair from the main house in case Amanda wanted to sit. She was too involved with her sciencing, so he sat on it and chatted with Peggy for a while. He volunteered to help Jarvis with dinner out of sheer boredom, and then he held a plate for Amanda, feeding her bits of chicken and pasta whenever she wandered close to him.

"I think I've got it," she announced, about two thirds of the way through the plate. She was brandishing a little metal cylinder, about twice the width of a pen. 

Howard came over to peer at it. "You're sure? I've been trying to get that thing to work for months."

Bucky had picked up enough of the conversation to know that whatever Amanda had been tweaking was some sort of instant syringe Howard had been working on. A way to make a shot painless and instantaneous. All he'd managed to do was inefficient gouging.

Amanda was grinning. "How many times do I have to tell you, Howard? You are not a doctor." She thumped him in the arm with the syringe and pulled it back almost immediately after.

"Hey!" He rubbed his arm. "That didn't hurt."

"Good." She fiddled with the metal to reveal a glass tube full of blood. "Would that be sufficient zero matter?"

Wilkes came over to look at it. "More than enough, the bit from Jane Scott that made me solid for a second was much smaller. But I don't know how much will be actual blood." He looked at it. "It's perfect. Dr. Barnes, I could kiss you, but-" He gestured to his insubstantial body.

"You will have to get in line," she said easily. "Howard has been trying to kiss me for years."

"I'd let you," Bucky said. "Unlike him, I'm not worried about you giving her, and by extension me, herpes."

"I don't have herpes," Howard said immediately. Then after a pause added, "That I know of." 

"Lovely," Amanda murmured. She took the plate of food from Bucky and sank in the offered chair. "Well, my work here is done."

"So now we have our next problem," Peggy said from the couch. "How to get that close to her?"

Howard leaned back against his lab table. "I might have the answer to that. Chadwick is having a fund raiser, day after tomorrow. Everyone on the A list will be there. Guaranteed he'll be dragging wifey to it, zero matter and all."

"He knows this because he has tickets," Jarvis added, saving them from asking.

"I donate to all the major candidates. That way, whoever wins, I always have friends."

"Oh, Howard, really." Peggy had the best exasperated face.

"Howard would make an even worse spy than me," Steve commented.

"He _is_ a lousy spy," Peggy said. "Someone will need to go with him to collect the sample. Ideally, I'd do it, but. . ." She gestured at her side.

"What about Rose?" Steve asked.

Peggy was shaking her head. "She had to fly back east. Her mother is sick."

"Don't think Sousa will fly as my date," Howard offered.

"We can't trust anyone at the SSR," Peggy said. "So either we put Steve or Bucky in a dress, or. . ."

It took a good thirty seconds of them all staring at her for Amanda to notice. She glanced around the room, wide-eyed. "No."

"I'll back that up," Bucky said.

"Fine," Peggy said from the couch. "Then I'm going to need something to hold my abdomen together and brace me so I can at least walk. Old fashioned corset, maybe?"

"I think we should revisit Steve in a dress."

"C'mon Doc." Howard chucked her in the shoulder. "You stared down Red Skull and the Nazis but you're scared of a little Hollywood fundraiser?"

She glared at him. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Can you see me in a ball gown rubbing elbows with movie stars?"

"You told me you attended balls with your family." Peggy said, sounding surprised. "You offered to teach Steve how to waltz."

Amanda scowled and looked down at her food. "That was a long time ago."

Bucky touched her shoulder, and came around in front of her, effectively shielding her from the rest of them. "Hey," he said quietly.

She huffed out a little breath. "I am not that girl anymore."

"I know," he said quietly. "You don't have to be. You just have to play a role."

"And we can style your hair like Veronica Lake," Jarvis said.

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a little. "Oh, well, if Jarvis wants to play dress up who am I to stop him?"

He leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. "I will be within shouting distance if anything goes sideways. I promise."

For a few moments she was quiet, breathing in time with him. Then she nodded. "All right."

"You know I'd burn the building down for you if I had to," he told her.

"I do know that, yes." She kissed him. "We'll call that Plan B."


	9. Chapter 9

Peggy insisted she was okay to walk back upstairs. She wasn't entirely sure she could even really stand on her own, but pride made her say it anyway. Steve simply raised his eyebrows, and then scooped her up in his arms. He was silent as he carried her, but the force with which he kicked the bedroom door closed indicated he was not in the best of moods.

Once she was tucked back into bed, he said. "You were not seriously considering going?"

She pursed her lips. "Well, it wasn't my first choice. I was trying to drive home how dire the situation was."

"But you would have if she said no?"

Aware it was absolutely not the answer he wanted, she replied, "If necessary."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "There is no math where you putting yourself at that kind of risk would have been necessary. I feel terrible for Dr. Wilkes in whatever limbo he's trapped in, but that's not worth you seriously hurting yourself."

"You say that because you're my husband. I imagine if Dr. Wilkes had a spouse she'd feel quite differently from you."

He sighed. "I know you feel guilty for dragging him into this."

"I am responsible for him," she said, with as much dignity as she could from a sick bed. "I owe him every opportunity to fix himself."

"Even at the expense of yourself."

"I would have been fine." Before he could respond she added, "And I can't believe you are giving me a lecture on recklessness. Have you noticed what color the pot is recently, Mr. Kettle?"

"You have a hole in your abdomen," he said. "And your back."

She glanced away, jaw tightening. "I have a job to do."

"This is well beyond a job," he replied.

"Perhaps. But I don't think saving the world from a woman with unmeasurable power is really the time to start splitting hairs about jurisdiction."

He rubbed his forehead. "I'll give you that."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I know you worry. I worried about you when you were doing your own world saving. And I promise that I will try to be more cautious. But sometimes I am the best person for the job. And that might mean I get hurt."

"When you asked me to stop, I stopped," he said after a moment.

She folded her hands in her lap ands said as calmly as she could, "Is this you asking me to stop?"

His jaw flexed, like it did when he was angry. "I'm asking you to _pause_."

So he was angry. She wasn't exactly filled with rainbows and lollypops herself. "Fine."

Steve closed his eyes for a moment. "Okay. Do you need anything?"

Pride made her want to say no. But there was no need to add pettiness to this discussion. "Tea?"

He nodded, then offered her a small smile. "I'll get you some cookies, too."

The corner of her mouth quirked a little. "Only if you call them biscuits."

"Only because that's what Jarvis think they're called, too," he told her, and she was glad the tension had broken. "I'll be right back."

"Thank you, darling," she said softly. He nodded and ducked out. She wondered if this had been part of what had been bothering him. It was clearly something about children—that being their touchiest topic. Had he decided before they had them he wanted her to stop? It wasn't unreasonable, but it put a pit in her stomach just the same.

Certainly she would need to take a pause, as he'd said, while she was pregnant. But he had been quite clear about wanting to stay home with them and raise them himself. She imagined going back to the SSR after having the baby would be a to-do of epic proportions. But certainly stranger things had happened.

The day of the party, Amanda cleared her to try walking, which was excruciating, and yet a relief. A week spent having Steve carry her to and from the bathroom had not been something she enjoyed. The sponge baths had been enjoyable, if frustrating as they tended to turn her on and there wasn't much to do about that. But with walking came permission to have a shower, as long as she had help.

They had to use the one in Howard's bathroom because they needed one big enough for Steve to get in there with her. It was big enough for four people in there. "Don't think about it," he muttered as he washed her hair, since she couldn't hold her arms up.

"I'll think about it all I want," she said tartly. "It's all I have."

She felt as much as heard his laugh. "I meant don't think about why Howard has a four-person shower. You're welcome to think about us being naked in it all you want." Though Steve wasn't actually naked. He'd put swim trunks on, which had made her laugh. He told her he was trying to be polite.

"I should think the reason for Howard having anything strange is fairly obvious. Sex or science, they're his only two motivations."

"I keep thinking if I look enough, I'll eventually find a harem stashed somewhere in this house." There were multiple shower heads, and one detached from the wall so you could hold it with your hand. It made rinsing much more convenient. He handed it to her after he rinsed out the shampoo, she noticed it had buttons on it, which made the water come out in different patterns and speeds.

She watched the water patter against the wall. "Oh, Howard."

"Yeah, see? Don't think about it."

Holding her hand under the spray, she fiddled with the settings. "I wonder if we could get one of these."

"I'll ask." He bend his head to kiss her shoulder. He was warm and solid behind her, and she longed to take this somewhere. They both had strong personalities, and sometimes they clashed. Sex helped them stay connected even if they were having a spat. Considering how long walking had taken, she hadn't brought up how long it might be before she was cleared for _that_.

He finished rinsing her off and turned the water off. She held his hand climbing out, moving as slow as an old woman, but dammit, she did it herself. She was exhausted, however, and sat on the edge of Howard's ridiculously large tub while Steve helped her dry off. Technically she walked back to bed herself, but she leaned on Steve so much he practically carried her.

"Mrs. Jarvis told me to come get her when you were done," he told her as he tucked her back in. "She said she'd come help with your hair and face. Told me in no uncertain terms not to try."

She chuckled and winced. "Mrs. Jarvis is a wonderful woman."

He kissed the top of her head, and left. A few minutes later, Ana and Amanda came in, with a box of supplied and an armload of formalwear. "Hello. Thought we'd get everyone fixed up at once."

"I wanted a second opinion," Amanda added. She was in a robe, hair twisted up in a towel. Ana sat next to Peggy on the bed and started carefully curling her hair as Amanda held up dresses.

They were _very_ nice dresses. "Where did those come from?"

"Mr. Stark's ladies often come here in formalwear and leave the dress behind. He keeps—well, I keep, neither he nor Edwin know a thing about women's fashion—a wardrobe of ladies day clothes for such occasions." She put another pin in Peggy's hair. "It's quite and undertaking to maintain; he doesn't particularly have a type so I stock every size under the sun."

"Howard is an equal opportunity lech," Amanda confirmed. "Which I have always found admirable." She had narrowed it down to one black and red dress and one silver one. "Too flashy?"

"You're Howard Stark's date. Flashy is pretty standard."

"You make a good point." She studied the silver dress a moment, then sighed and went to hang it on the back of the closet. "Howard is far too excited about this whole endeavor."

"Getting to play a spy?" Peggy asked. "I don't doubt it."

"Dressing me up is coming a close second." She untied her robe and let it fall, leaving her in black underwear, before taking the dress off the hanger. "He wanted to go buy me jewelry."

"If it were me, I'd let him," Ana said.

"I'm not entirely sure the logistics of being a kept woman by a man I'm not sleeping with." She wiggled into the silver dress and Ana stood up to zip it for her. "James was discussing it with him when I left to shower. It's not outside the realm of possibility Howard will sway him and I'll end up with diamonds."

"We shall give you a hairdo worthy of diamonds, then."

Amanda still didn't look entirely comfortable with the whole affair. But she sat patiently while Ana painstakingly curled and styled her hair into dramatic Veronica Lake waves, hiding her face. Some expertly applied make-up and the removal of her glasses and she was almost unrecognizable.

"I need the glasses back," she said. "I can't see."

"They don't entirely go with the look," Ana said hesitantly.

"I fairly certain you want me to be able to see whose blood I'm stealing."

"That's a fair point," Peggy said. "We'll work with the glasses."

She slipped them on and Ana rearranged the hair to cover them as well. "It's not so bad," she decided.

"Thank you, Ana."

There was a knock on the door, and when Ana opened it, Jarvis stuck his head in. "Mr. Stark has asked that I retrieve your eyeglasses for him to borrow."

"I just got them back," she protested, but gamely handed them over. "They better not shoot lasers when I get them back."

"I can make no assurances," Jarvis replied, and then ducked back out.

She sighed deeply and turned on the vanity bench to watch Ana finish Peggy's hair. "I suppose lasers wouldn't be so bad."

*

Howard had needed her glasses so he could replicate the lenses. He presented her with a pair of delightfully embellished cats-eye glasses that he deemed fit for evening wear. They had diamonds on them.

Always a loophole, that one.

She had her arm wound through his as he glad handed his way through the room. He didn't introduce her to anyone and none of them men he spoke to asked. A few of them gave her rather perusing once overs, however.

"You don't know who any of these people are, do you?" she said when they had a break.

"We might have met, I don't commit useless people to my permanent memory." He leaned on the bar and perused the room. "There is your lovely movie star. She got married while I was busy making Steve, so we never got acquainted."

"Pity, apparently she's a genius. Your post coital cuddling could have been fascinating."

"Cuddling? Barnes, what do you take me for?" He offered her his arm before she could answer. "Shall we?"

She sighed, automatically taking his arm. "More mingling?"

"We're going to go meet the dragon."

That sounded like a terrible idea, but she let him drag her across the room where Frost was hanging on her husband's arm, the way Amanda was hanging on Howard's. She was also rather conspicuously covering the left side of her face. It probably wasn't noticeable to anyone else—it was just a hat with a little veil strategically placed. But Amanda knew something about distracting people from a part of ones face without being obvious.

Chadwick turned away from the older man he was chatting with to greet Howard effusively. "Mr. Stark! So glad you could make it. I thought you were busy on set."

Howard shook his hand. "Well, I heard there was an open bar and couldn't resist. How's the campaign?"

"Just fine, just fine. Thanks to supporters like you." Amanda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Have you met my wife, Whitney?"

"I have not." Howard bent and kissed her hand. Frost smiled widely but it didn't reach her eye. "This is my entertainment for the evening, Mandy."

Oh, she was going to kill him for that. For now she giggled. "Oh, Howie. You're such a kidder." Peggy had coached her for days trying to get a less noticeable accent. The best they could manage was some vaguely midwestern cadence that made James laugh.

She could see Howard's mouth quirk in amusement. He also found the accent hilarious. Told her he'd pay her money to recite Shakespeare in it. She shook Whitney's hand and they made all the polite noises. Then she spotted a familiar face coming in the doorway. What the hell was Thompson doing here?

She turned her head sharply. "Howie, honey, can we go get a drink now?"

He glanced at her, looking confused. Fortunately he was aware enough to play along. "Of course, darlin'." He glanced back at the others. "Sorry, duty calls." Chadwick and Frost nodded before turning to the next well wishers.

Amanda's hairstyle afforded coverage for an earpiece and microphone attached to her glasses and ear, so the others could hear everything that went on, from a van parked outside the hotel. James must have picked up an off note in her voice, because he came through immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Jack Thompson is here," she said, gesturing so Howard would spot him.

"You should split up," Peggy said. The doctor in Amanda hadn't wanted her to come, but she'd insisted, and Steve would look after her. "Thompson will expect to see Howard, but you'll raise suspicions. Let him distract and go trail Whitney."

"Is that safe?" James asked.

There was a moment of silence, then Sousa piped up, "You know she's the muscle on this Op, right?"

"I can tell by the way you're smirking they're making fun of me," Howard said conversationally.

"Nonsense. However, they do want you to go distract Thompson for me." She paused, spotting a familiar hat bobbing through the crowd. "Frost is heading for the stairs. I believe the restrooms are up there. It might be a good time to make my move."

"Keep the line open, and good luck," Peggy said.

"Thank you." She touched Howard lightly on the arm and broke away, winding through the crowd to reach the stairs. On the way up she rummaged in her purse and pulled out the syringe, then unfastened the brooch on her bodice. 

She caught a glimpse of Frost slipping into the restroom and lingered just outside the door. When it began to open she stepped forward, running full-on into Frost and getting her square in the arm with the syringe.

"Oh, gosh I'm so sorry!" she said in her ridiculous accent. "I have been having such trouble with this pin." She waved it around, tucking the syringe against her arm.

Whitney looked her up and down dismissively before letting her politician's-wife smile slip back into place. "I didn't feel a thing," she said, walking past her.

Amanda let the door swing shut, then looked down at the syringe, now with a vial full of viscus black fluid. "Mission accomplished."

"Good," Peggy said. "Get the hell out of there. Howard should make his way out on his own."

"Had I known I could make it look like Howard was stood up by his date I would have agreed to this far earlier." She slipped out of the rest room and headed back down the hall. Before taking the turn that would have brought her to the stairs, she heard men's voices, including Chadwick's. Cursing, she turned and ducked into the first door she saw.

It looked like a large meeting room, with a conference table. The voices were getting closer, so she ducked into the decorative wardrobe that stood against one wall. The door closed just as the room door opened and men started to file in. " _Scheisse_ ," she muttered under her breath.

"Amanda?" James asked.

"Shh," she hissed as quietly as she could. "Hiding." She tucked her hair back and turned her face, hoping they would be able to pick up what was being said in the room. There was a decorative grate she could see and hear through.

She watched as Whitney demonstrated her power on a squeaking, terrified lab rat. And then watched as Chadwick and the council betrayed her. And that's when things got interesting.

Amanda pressed herself against the back wall of the wardrobe, focusing on not making a sound. She had to admit, she felt a small sliver of sympathy for the woman as she dissolved her husband and half the council into black puddles of zero matter. Frost was crazy, but betrayal never sat well.

Listening to her take over the Council, and the surviving old farts kiss her ass, was disconcerting. She gave it a moment after the doors closed before stepping out. "They're gone," she whispered to her mic.

"What _was_ that?" Peggy asked.

"Frost appears to be able to wield the zero matter as a weapon. She used it to. . . disintegrate her husband and most of the council."

"That's what she must have been trying to do to me," Steve said.

"Consider yourself very lucky it didn't work." Amanda paused to examine the floor where the men had been standing, but saw no sign of the zero matter.

"Amanda, get out of there," James said.

She straightened. "I'm going, I'm going." Peeking out the door to ensure no one was outside, she slipped out and headed for the stairs once more.

Turning the corner she stopped short, almost running into three men. The one in the center studied her, gaze sweeping from her feet to her face. For a moment, he didn't seem to see her and she smiled and tried to sneak past him.

Then recognition hit and he held an arm out to stop her. She backtracked a little, back into the other hallway. "Mr. Masters. They let you in places like this?"

His eyes narrowed and she saw him start piecing things together. Irritating little toad he might be, stupid he apparently was not. She turned and ran back down the hall an instant before he ordered the men with him to "Get her!"


	10. Chapter 10

The radio was emitting very obvious sounds of a fight. Bucky stood up next to him, and Steve put his hand on his arm. "Amanda, do you need backup?"

"I would not. Turn it. Aside," she said through grunts of exertion.

"We're on our way," Bucky called. "Where are you?"

"Fifth floor stairwell, heading up," she called back.

"Be careful and don't blow our cover," Peggy called after them, but they were already on their way out. The nearest door was locked and probably some sort of emergency exit door. Bucky yanked it nearly off the hinges.

The door opened in the back corner of the main ballroom, where the party was still in full swing. Without pausing his stride, Bucky ran through the room, beelining for the staircase. Steve followed along at his heels, aware of the stares and whispers surrounding them. If anyone had a thought to stop them, the look on Bucky's face kept them at bay.

So much for not blowing their cover. Hopefully Peggy would think of some sort of story for why Captain America went charging through this ballroom. They went upstairs to the wide hallway Amanda must have run into Masters in. They followed it to the next set of stairs and went running, tracking her as best they could. 

Outside the sixth floor door, a fight had clearly happened. A decorative table was overturned and a planter smashed. On the other side of the plant and dirt pile, in the shattered pottery, were the syringe, and Amanda's glasses. 

Bucky walked forward very slowly, crouching to pick up the glasses. He turned them over and Steve could see on of the earpieces was snapped. Grief crossed Bucky's features, then rage. He looked up and down the hallway but there was no sign of Amanda or her attackers.

"We'll search the hotel," Steve said. "I'll go up, you go down."

He heard Bucky suck in a breath, but he nodded. He grabbed the syringe and handed it to Steve. "I'll meet you back at the van."

There was no sign of her, anywhere in the hotel. By the time he made his way back downstairs, the party was over, and polite but firm hotel security was herding everyone to the door. He could have made a stink, and certainly could have overpowered them, but he didn't want to make this worse.

Bucky was already at the van, turning the glasses over in his hands. Sousa was standing in the doorway, eyeing him cautiously. He looked visibly relieved when Steve arrived. "Nothing?"

"No, and I was practically thrown out. Any sign of Howard?"

He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "He and Peggy are winding each other up. They'll be calling in the National Guard soon."

"We need to go back home, and figure out what to do next."

"I'm not leaving without her," Bucky said immediately.

"She's not here," Steve replied. "We need to figure out where they took her."

"We can't just leave," he repeated, but sounded more helpless than determined.

"We'll get her back," Sousa said. "But hanging out here isn't going to do any good."

Steve put an arm around his shoulder. "Come on."

They drove the van and Howard's woody back to the house. The Jarvises had stayed up to hear how it went and made tea and coffee and late-night snacks while the rest of them filled them in on the debacle. Ana Jarvis especially seemed to soothe with food.

Steve was torn between obviously being worried about Amanda, worried about Bucky, and worried about his wife, who had already _visibly_ overdone it, but there was no way he'd get her back to bed. And besides, they needed her brain.

"Best we can tell from the audio feed, people who work for Vernon Masters seem to have grabbed her. She didn't say if he was in the room with the council or not, but if he was, clearly he survived."

"Why would he take her, doesn't he work for SSR or run it or whatever?" Howard had skipped the coffee and snacks and gone right to the bar. Steve was wondering if he should add him to the list of people to be worried about.

"He's been sniffing around the office for days," Sousa said. "Asking questions about Peggy. He's clearly aware you're doing something off-book. And it's no secret you and Amanda are close."

"You think he took her to get to me?"

He lifted a shoulder. "Or to find out what she knows. SSR has a long history of underestimating her."

"Yourself included," she replied, and he held up his hands.

"He wouldn't take her back to the SSR. Too obvious," Steve said.

"The Arena Club would be my best guess," Peggy said. "Wouldn't surprise me if they've got some sort of dungeon in the basement."

Bucky stood up so fast he upended his chair. Then he blew out a breath and stalked over to the bar. 

Peggy watched him and winced. "I apologize. Poor choice of words."

"Okay," Steve said. "I think you're right on that being the most likely location. It's somewhere to start. This is going to be a bit of a black ops thing, it's probably best just the two of us go." 

To his relief, Peggy nodded. "Anyone else would only slow you down."

He turned his head. "Howard. Guns?"

Howard jumped a little, as if he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Yeah." He knocked back his drink. "Yeah. Downstairs. I'll show you."

"You all right?" Steve asked. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Howard this rattled.

"I'm fine." He flashed one of his usual smiles. "I'm always fine, right?" He put his glass down and headed for the door. "Let's get you some weapons."

*

The Arena Club was a bust. The building was deserted this late at night and surprisingly easy to search. Bucky should have known by the lack of security that they'd find nothing, but they searched anyway. After they'd looked in every nook and cranny they stood in the center of the lounge. Bucky had to resist the urge to start tearing things apart. Just on principle.

"We have no other leads." It wasn't a question. He knew this had been their only idea and a long shot at that.

"We find out where he's staying, and we stalk him," Steve said. "He'll lead us somewhere."

He nodded. It was probably another long shot, but it was something. He could limp along from one desperate idea to another if he had to. It was better than letting himself think about her in some dungeon somewhere.

"I expect it will be morning," Steve said gently. He sighed. "We need more manpower for a proper search. And not civilians we have to keep an eye on, but actually trained and self-sufficient help." He tipped his head back. "Never thought I'd miss the war."

"It would be nice to have the guys around right about now," he conceded. They started for the doors.

Steve stopped a few feet on, and Bucky turned to look and him. Steve tilted his head. "How far away is Fresno?"

"Few hundred miles." Bucky arched a brow. "Thinking about dragging Morita out of retirement?"

"We'll promise him Stark will introduce him to some starlets."

The idea brightened his mood fractionally. "It's worth a shot."

"They'd all come if we called them," he said. "On planes and trains and steamers. Everybody was fond of her."

"Let's start with Morita and maybe Jones. He and 'Manda were buddies. I know Dernier and Falls would come but I feel like by the time they got out here it would be too late. One way or another."

"There will be no 'another'," he said firmly.

It was one in the morning when Steve called Morita. He explained what happened, and didn't even get halfway through asking for help when Morita replied that he'd be there by dawn. 

Some of them went to sleep, but Howard was up all night building Wilkes's containment apparatus. Steve went to lay down so Peggy would sleep, but since there was no way Bucky was sleeping, he was alone with the mad scientists.

It was kind of soothing. He didn't understand half of what they were saying, so it was just like having white noise while he sat. Of course, that left him far too much time to think. But occasionally something blew up or set off sparks and that would distract him long enough to start the cycle over again. Wilkes gave him the occasional sympathetic or worried glance but didn't say anything. Howard had thrown himself into the project with a particularly virulent level of obsessiveness. This, Bucky suspected, was what he did with his worry.

Around five AM, they drafted Bucky into helping them—well, Howard—do the final assembly. They were almost done when Peggy limped downstairs. "I have an idea."

"You're not supposed to be up," Howard and Wilkes said in unison.

"Steve is asleep," she said, like it explained everything.

Bucky sighed. "What idea?" The quicker she got it out the sooner they'd get her back to bed.

"Amanda witnessed Whitney taking over the council. Then Vernon Masters or people working for him grabbed her. He is clearly at the heel of the council. So if they don't have her, it stands to reason Whitney does."

There was a pause as they all considered that. "I can't decide if that's better or worse," Bucky said.

"Better." Howard looked over at him. "Frost is smart and she's going to recognize Amanda is too. She'll want to use that. Gives Amanda leverage."

"True," Peggy said. "But actually not my point." She pointed at Dr. Wilkes. "When you absorbed the bit of zero matter from Jane Scott's tissue sample, it showed you where her body was. Where the zero matter was." She pointed to the syringe sitting on the lab table. "When we give you that, shouldn't you be able to locate Whitney?"

Wilkes's face brightened. "It would stand to reason. The zero matter calls to itself." He looked over at the half built containment unit. "This should be ready in the next few hours."

"I can do it in two," Howard said. "Tops. Somebody go press that button on the wall to wake up Jarvis. I need another pair of hands."

Peggy looked like she might protest - Jarvis hadn't been getting much sleep lately either - but Bucky shook his head. "If you don't he'll just try to do it himself." He hit the button and went over to Peggy. "Go back to bed before you get us all in trouble."

*

Peggy apparently slept through Steve getting out of bed, because when she woke it was light out, he was gone, and Ana was at the foot of her bed. "I'm sorry to wake you," she said. "Chief Thompson is here, and he's demanding to speak with you." 

She groaned and pressed a hand to her side unconsciously. "Oh, I am in no mood for him first thing in the morning."

"I told him you were unwell, and he replied he didn't have time for 'female complaints'. I thought going and getting Mr. Stark or Captain Rogers might be a bad idea."

"That would likely end in violence," Peggy agreed. "Very well, I have a dressing gown I can slip on. Help me up."

Ana wasn't as good as Steve for getting her down the stairs, and her side throbbed by the time she got to the bottom. She took a deep breath and put every bit of her energy into looking as uninjured as possible while walking into the front parlor where Thompson waited for her.

"Good morning," he said. "Sorry for the hour."

"Quite all right," she said brightly. "I'm normally an early riser."

Thompson looked a little skeptical. "You look like you had a rough night."

Oh, if only her side didn't hurt. "Your charm knows no bounds."

His eyes fell to the hand she had braced one her abdomen. "Don't tell me there's finally a bun in the oven. That'll certainly make this conversation simpler."

Peggy gave him a thin smile. "I'm afraid not. But I'm sure you'll be the absolute first to know whenever the blessed event occurs."

He looked at her for a long moment, and his expression was surprisingly genuine. "You should do that, you know," he said. "You and your husband should go home, make babies, and. . .stop this."

"Honestly, Jack, the more you want me to do something the less inclined I am to do it. So could you please cut to the chase before you ruin my future plans entirely."

"You're chasing boogeymen down into a pit of quicksand."

"I am doing my job," she said firmly. "Without letting myself be influenced by men in suits promising me the world so that they can pull my puppet strings. You should try it sometime."

"Your job is in my office in New York, and I'm thinking maybe the best thing would be for you to get back to it."

She clenched her jaw. "That's not going to happen."

"This is not a request." He folded his arms over his chest. "Just come back to home. Leave this here. It's all right to admit you are wrong once in a while."

Smiling, she titled her head. "Believe it or not, I've been wrong before. I know what it feels like. I'm not wrong. Not this time."

"How much are you willing to bet on that?"

"Mmm, everything I've got." That was probably a lie, but she was in for a penny now might as well go the whole pound.

"That's a lot to lose."

"But I won't lose."

"Yeah, you will. These people that you're messing with. . ." he shook his head.

"Yes, they're quite frightening and important. But you forget. I have Captain America on my side."

Thompson sighed heavily, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You know they'll have to ruin him to get to you, Peggy." She couldn't remember the last time he'd called her Peggy. "And I know you've seen what they're capable of. They'll do it."

He seemed to be sincere, so she tried it as well. "What am I supposed to do? You have no idea the consequences if I don't finish this."

"A suicide charge won't change the world."

Before she could reply the doorbell rang. Ana fluttered by and they both watched. A moment later Jim Morita came into the parlor doorway. He looked from Thompson to her and back to Thompson. "I remember you," he said, not making it sound like a pleasant memory. "You're the one that wanted to turn us into target practice for the Red Army."

Thompson's cheeks flushed a little and Peggy hid a smile. "Jim, it's good to see you. I believe Steve is down in the lab with Howard."

"This guy bothering you?" he asked.

"No, thank you. Chief Thompson was just leaving." She met Jack's gaze. "He has a plane to catch."

He gave her a long look, then shook his head and left.

Jim came over and hugged her, gently so clearly Steve had warned him about her wound. "What was all that about?""I believe he was trying to warn me off of what we've been investigating."

He grinned. "Well. Then you are on to something, aren't you?"

"Clearly. Come on, I'll show you down to the boys before getting dressed."

"Did you really get impaled?" he asked.

"I did." She un tied her dressing gown and lifted her pajama top to show him the bandage. "Rebar, straight through."

"Bra-vo," he said with a grin. She missed the Commandos. They had _always_ taken her seriously.

"Amanda assured me the scar will be a thing of beauty." She could hear the sorrow in her voice before she'd even finished the sentence. Jim tilted his head and touched her back lightly. She nodded and tried a smile before opening the door to the lab.

"We'll get her back," he said quietly. Then he strode into the room. "Hello, boys. The cavalry is here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a shitty week. Have some Amanda kicking ass.
> 
> Thank you to youhavereacedtheendofpie for the German translating.

It was a little depressing to actually have an opinion on dungeons.

The one Amanda was currently in wasn't so bad, all things considered. It was warm enough, not damp. She suspected it was originally intended as a wine cellar of some sort, so she was certainly in good company. The inanimate company, at least.

Masters was prattling on about Ilse Koch while he lined up dental tools on a rough hewn table. Her glasses were long gone, so she couldn't tell what precisely they were, but she was sure they were supposed to be quite scary.

"In less than twenty-four hours, she told me everything I wanted to know."

Oh, she was supposed to be paying attention to this, wasn't she. What was it about being morally reprehensible that made people want to yammer on so?

He was sitting in front of her now, waving around what looked like tooth extractors, clearly expecting her to start telling him everything he wanted to know, despite the fact he hadn't asked her anything yet.

She tilted her head and smiled until he stopped waving the pliers. "Just because you can dish our torture, doesn't mean you can take it," she said. "In fact, I've found bullies are often the least capable of dealing with pain."

He snapped the pliers at her. "One Nazi bitch is just the same as the other."

Always with the Nazi thing. "Mmm. And you are still out of your league."

He struck her across the face and she let her head roll with it before looking back at him. She tasted blood and gingerly touched her lip with her tongue. Master grabbed her jaw. "What is Peggy Rogers looking for?"

They were almost nose to nose and she was able to see him quite clearly. It was enlightening. "Look at you. Trying to act ruthless but you're terrified. Is that for what my husband will do when he catches you?" He jerked away from her, pacing away. "Or is that for the pretty blonde monster holding your leash?"

He glared at her, and then rifled in his box. He pulled out a vial and syringe.

"Needles!" she said brightly. "Now we're getting into my territory." He turned back to her and she got a look at the vial. "Sodium pentathol? You can't be serious. It's a mild barbiturate. Why don't you just get me liquored up on some good whiskey?" Stone faced, he paced over to her. "Oh, come on Vernon. You know Nazis have all the best drinking songs."

"We'll just see," he said, and he shoved the needle in her arm. Like he moron he clearly was, he missed the vein entirely, injecting his sodium pentathol into her brachioradialis muscle, where her body would slowly and haphazardly absorb it over the next 24 hours.

He strolled away and set his needle back in the case, then took his seat again. "Now then. I'll ask again. What is Rogers looking for?"

She sighed and studied him a moment. Then, in the most solemn voice she could manage she said, " _Der menschliche Körper kann innerhalb von nur 8,6 Sekunden völlig ausgeblutet werden solange eine entsprechende Absaugstärke vorhanden ist._ "

He stared at her for a moment. "Shit. This happened last time, too."

She started to laugh brightly, because this had now officially tipped into ridiculous. Masters leaned forward and slapped her, as if that would knock her out of it. As he moved, she noticed a flash of metal in his inner coat pocket.

She shifted her hand forward, losing a layer of skin to the ropes tying her. Her fingers brushed metal and she pinched it. When he leaned away the metal - which she now saw was a pocket knife - came free of his pocket. She palmed it and smiled innocently at him. “ _Die Metallenden an Schnürsenkeln heißen Pinke. Ihr wahrer Zweck ist böse._ ” 

He shook her by her shoulders. "Speak English!"

Winding him up was way more fun than it should have been. Grinning, she started to sing an old nursery rhyme her mother would always hum. “ _Grün, grün, grün sind alle meine Kleider, grün, grün, grün ist alles, was ich hab’._ ”

Masters stepped back and stared at her. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"No, no," she said, switching languages flawlessly. "You're almost there. I'm very close to breaking."

His hands flexed and she could see him fighting down the urge to hurt her. Then the door at the top of the stairs opened and a dark haired man that Amanda didn't recognize came down. "Masters. Your presence is requested."

"I'm busy!"

The man gave Masters a look. "You want I should tell her that?"

Masters looked away and lowered his head. Then turned and stalked towards the stairs like a scolded child. The other man let him pass, then gave Amanda a once over, winked, and followed.

Now alone, she turned the pocket knife in her hand and started to carefully saw at her bindings.

Eventually, Whitney Frost herself came downstairs, and Amanda finally got a really good look at the thing on the left side of her face, a black pattern like blood vessels, or lightning, stretching from her hairline to her jaw.

She stopped a few feet away and they just studied each other a moment. Amanda finally broke the silence. "You know, I know some excellent tricks for covering up scars. If you're interested."

Frost smirked. "That's sweet but I think I've. . . outgrown Hollywood shallowness. It's taken up too much of my life."

"You were a bit wasted," Amanda agreed. "Mind like yours."

"I did what I had to do. As, I expect, did you."

"Mmm, perhaps. But what I did got me a doctor in front of my name. And what you did got you two Oscar nominations. Which is. . . . something, I suppose." She could feel the binds on her wrist loosening and kept sawing, slowly and carefully.

"I've done plenty with my mind, don't you worry about that."

"Yes, I read your work on the radio frequency modulators. It was brilliant. Innovative. You probably save thousands of lives. As a doctor I admire that." Frost beamed. "But then you stopped. You smiled for the cameras and clung to your husband's arm and did nothing. Don't you miss the lab? The innovation?"

"After the war, that's all that was left. All anyone wants out of a woman anymore is a face, a womb, and a casserole."

Of all the ridiculous, stupid things that had happened in the last few days, that was the thing that actually piqued Amanda's anger. "There are always options, if you want it bad enough."

"You have no-"

"Do you know what I did when people told me women weren't doctors? Became a _better doctor_. You took the easy way and you know it. You lacked the courage of your convictions and weren't willing to fight for it. So you _smiled_ and agreed when everyone else told you what you were good for."

"I've heard it's easier for ugly women to succeed in mens' jobs."

Amanda chuckled. "I would not be throwing stones, Ms. Frost. You're going to be needing a mask, soon."

Her eyes narrowed. "This isn't a scar. It's a _gift_. Would you like to see what it can do?" She tugged her glove off and advanced on her.

"No need for threats, Ms. Frost." Amanda was rather proud of how steady her voice sounded. "We're all adults here."

Frost smiled, one hand braced on the chair behind Amanda's head. "So you'll tell me what I want to know?"

Just a little closer, you crazy harridan. "Of course. I'll spill all my secrets." She pitched her voice low and Frost leaned in, just as she'd hoped. Jerking her head back, she slammed her forehead into Frost's.

She stumbled back and Amanda jumped to her feet, ignoring the ringing in her head. Peggy had said Frost seemed to have super strength. Amanda was a good fighter, thanks to her father and James, and could take your average thug. She'd rather been looking forward to beating the ever-living snot out of Masters. But there was no way she was tangling with someone who had held their own against Steve.

So she turned, sliced through the bonds on her other wrist, picked up the chair she'd been sitting in and swung, slamming it across Frost's back. The blonde went down hard, cracking her head on the wooden table Masters had lined his tools up on.

For a moment, Amanda held her breath, but Frost stayed down. She debated finding some way to finish her off - a wooden stake to the heart was rather appealing. But there was no way to know when someone might come check on her or if something as simple as blood loss could kill the other woman. So she dropped the remains of the chair and stepped over Frost's body to the table. Choosing a couple of sharp objects to help her deal with any guards she came across, she gathered up her skirt and headed for the stairs.

*

"We should wait for nightfall. This is dangerous to do in broad daylight."

Bucky was already shaking his head at Morita. "I'm not leaving her there another 12 hours."

"You're not wrong," Steve said. "But we need to strike while we know they're there."

"It's not like they'll have turrets or the like," Peggy added. "And certainly any security they do have would not have your experience."

Morita didn't look happy about it, but he looked down at the the maps they'd spread across Howard's lab table.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but is there any more food in this room?"

The containment machine for Dr. Wilkes had worked like a charm, as had Peggy's theory that he would be able to pinpoint Whitney Frost's location. The downside appeared to be that the several days without food was now catching up with him.  
Though they had learned that Howard hid food around his lab.

Without looking, Howard reached in a drawer, pulled out a box of raisins and tossed it at Wilkes. 

"Ana will be done with her goulash or whatnot soon," Peggy assured him.

"Ana makes amazing goulash," Howard said. "Let's talk weaponry."

"You got anything I can use to snipe?" Bucky looked like hell. Steve was sure he hadn't slept and for any other mission he'd try to get him to stay home. He knew it was futile in this instance.

"I'm concerned if you try to shoot for accuracy you're going to hit _her_ ," Howard replied. Not that he hadn't also been awake since the day before yesterday.

"I can snipe in my sleep. And if I'm on the floor with the people holding her it's gonna get ugly real fast."

Steve was sort of proud he was self-aware enough to realize that. "Do you have anything for long distance shooting, Howard?"

The door to the lab swung open. It was Ana, but she wasn't carrying any goulash. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is a strange car coming up the drive. I locked the door and ran down here."

They all exchange glances. Steve nodded to Bucky and Morita and they headed for the door. "Sit," he ordered Peggy as he passed, since she was valiantly trying to get to her feet.

They got to the front in time to see the car park haphazardly in front of the house. Then the driver's door opened and Amanda stepped out.

She was still in the silver dress she'd worn to the party, now rather bedraggled, with a men's suit jacket tossed over it. She had a busted lip, a bruised cheek and a cut on her eyebrow.

Bucky yanked the door open and sprinted down the steps to catch her as she was coming around the end of the car. He lifted her off her feet with his embrace and Amanda wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Steve could see her wrists were bruised and bloody where the jacket rode up her arms.

"Yep," Morita said from behind him. "That's Doc."

Steve gave them their space for a moment, before calling, "Come inside."

Bucky seemed to whisper something to her. She nodded and he set her back on her feet and wrapped an arm around her as they went back to the house.

She blinked in surprise and squinted at Morita. "Jim? What on earth-"

"I'm here to help rescue you," he said blandly.

She smiled and reached out, giving him a hug. "I thank you for the thought."

By the time they got into the main hall, the Jarvises had helped Peggy up to meet them, and there was another round of hugging, and possibly a little bit of crying. 

"What happened?" Peggy asked.

"No," Steve said, making an executive decision. "Half of us have been up all night and the rest got a handful of hours of shitty sleep. Amanda's safe, we'll have a debrief after everyone has a nap."

"I would like a nap," Amanda piped up.

" _Doc_." Howard burst out of the lab and threw himself at her with almost as much force as Bucky had.

Amanda hugged him, looking at the rest of them in shock. "I'm all right. I'm fine."

He leaned back to look her over. "Are you sure? I have an x-ray machine downstairs."

She laughed a little. "I'm fine. Just bruises. No one got close enough to break any bones."

"That's my girl." Bucky was grinning.

"It works," he said. "It worked. Wilkes is solid again. He's in a box, but . . . baby steps."

She bounced on her toes. "Oh, I'm so glad." She looked up at Steve. "Can I say hello to Dr. Wilkes before I sleep?"

"You don't need me," he said. He clapped Bucky on the shoulder. "I think you're in pretty good hands."

"Well, I'm sleeping, I drove all night," Morita said. "You got spare room, Stark."

"I will escort you," Jarvis said. 

"And I will take my wife up for a nap," Steve said, reaching his arm out for her.

Peggy gave Amanda one more tight squeeze before going with him, leaning on his arm as they walked. "I don't remember the last time I was this relieved," she said. "Or this exhausted."

"Would that be an invitation to carry you up the stairs?"

"Am I so transparent?"

He scooped her up. "Only because I know you extremely well." And he understood, about the exhaustion and the relief. He'd been gearing up for a fight, and then suddenly the danger evaporated. The sudden shift threw him off balance.

She didn't protest even when he carried her all the way to their room and set her on the bed. She had spent the day in what was essentially her pajamas, so she was all ready to sleep. When he got in beside her, very gingerly they arranged themselves so she could tuck against him and put her head on his shoulder.

Just as he was closing his eyes, she said, "I had a. . . difficult conversation with Jack Thompson today."

Steve cracked an eye open. "Today? It's not even nine."

"It was before breakfast. Just before Jim arrived. He was trying to convince me to drop this and go back to New York."

"You could have called me," he said. He'd thought she'd been resting.

"I considered it, but was worried it would come to blows. I managed to send him off without it getting too nasty." She paused. "I actually believe he was being sincere in the warning. He was spooked."

"Is he going to fire you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, then stopped and frowned. "I'm not sure. There was an implied threat but nothing concrete. Mostly he was warning me that the mysterious cabal behind all this would tear you down to get to me." She shook her head. "Maybe this is over our heads. But what's the alternative, at this point? Let Whitney Frost do whatever it is she's planning? That's not a world any of us want to live in."

He shifted to look at her batter. "How on earth would they take me down?"

"Oh, they'd call you a communist. A man at home while his wife works? How un-American. And with me a foreigner. There would be a trial, the other Commandos would be called in to testify. The press would have a field day."

They certainly were playing up the drama, there, weren't they? "It's possible they could put Steve Rogers on trial. But I'm publicly inseparable from Captain America, and Captain America is a national symbol. It would be like putting a bald eagle on trial. And I work. I draw patriotic comic books." They would probably come to him, sooner rather than later, and tell him what his stories should be about. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. 

"I know." Peggy shifted a little to stroke his cheek. "They're used to threatening much weaker people. I love you, I know anything they throw at us we can weather."

He bent his head to kiss her. It occurred to him that this might be just the sort of private moment where he ought to mention what Amanda had told him. It wasn't the kind of secret he wanted to keep. But she was hurt and everything was in chaos and it just wasn't the time. He wasn't sure he could even form the words, anyway.

"We should get some sleep," he whispered to her.

"Yes, of course." She cuddled against him and closed her eyes. "We've earned it."

*

With his wife safe, and tucked against his side, Bucky finally slept. He probably could have slept for three days, but was woke a few hours later by the sound of Amanda being sick in the bathroom. Worried, he got up and knocked on the door. "Manda?"

"I'm all right." There was the sound of the tap running, then she opened the door, sipping a glass of water. "Masters attempted to give me truth serum but injected it in the muscle. I think it's finally metabolizing."

She showed him a bruise and lump on her arm, and he frowned at it. "Asshole."

"Indeed." He put an arm around her as she tucked into his side. "I was rather sad I didn't run into him while escaping. I'd been looking forward to kicking his ass."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to kick his ass. But I am _so_ proud of you."

"I've never been one for waiting to get rescued. As you well know." She tilted her head up and he kissed her, guiding her back to bed. "I'm touched that Jim came down."

"It was Steve's idea. But apparently he just hopped in his car immediately and without question."

"Friends like that are rare." She stretched on the bed and he took a moment to fuss the covers back into place. She was still pale and drawn, but her lip looked like it was healing and the bruise on her cheek would probably fade soon. 

He climbed in bed beside her and took her hand. She smiled and squeezed his fingers. "Perhaps working for Howard will mean less adventures."

"I have to tell you honestly, that would make me a very happy man."

"I agree. I am not built for this sort of thing."

They snuggled together and slept. Then woke around dinner time, and found a massive feast being served up downstairs. Bucky and Steve wrestled Dr. Wilkes and his container up the stairs so he could join them in the dining room.

Sousa and Violet had come for dinner, mostly so he could tell them all about his afternoon with Vernon Masters. "He seems to expect me to find those uranium rods. And tried to woo me with some nonsense about my future and how bright it would be if I did his bidding. Something about expanding on my hero story." He made a motion with his fingers best described as 'yapping', then added. "I told him there was nothing heroic about how I lost my leg, and tossed him out of my office."

"If you bring him the uranium rods I have a suggestion for where you can put them," Amanda said, pouring herself more tea. Bucky reached over and rubbed her back.

"I'd say he's getting a bit desperate." Peggy sounded thoughtful. "Which might mean Whitney Frost is feeling the same way."

"She really wants those rods. She may eventually guess they're here."

"Howard do you have anywhere else we can store them?"

He chewed thoughtfully. "Nothing nearby. Shipping them back east would be a nightmare."

Amanda cleared her throat. "I have an idea. But you're not going to like it."

"Many an adventure started with that sort of statement," Morita said around a mouthful of food.

"I think we should blow them up."

"The uranium?" Steve asked. "I'm sorry, but—are you nuts?"

Bucky rubbed her back again. "Honey, I know you're a little shook up from being kidnapped-"

Amanda held up her hands. "Hear me out. Frost wants to recreate the initial zero matter experiment. That's why she wants _those_ rods. If any would do she would have simply stolen a new bomb. If we destroy the rods - out in the desert, with precautions - that option is no longer open to her. It won't stop her entirely, but it might buy us some time while she thinks of something else."

"That actually makes a crazy amount of sense," Howard said. "I like how you think." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Roxxon had to lock them up because they're no longer authorized by Uncle Sam to test nukes. Stark Industries still is."

"All possible respect, Howard, but your stamp of approval probably doesn't help with Steve thinking I'm nuts."

"Um," Dr. Wilkes said cautiously. "May I add my support for selfish reasons?"

"How does that help you?" Steve asked. He was sounding very Cap right now.

"Well, there's a non-zero chance that using those rods will open up another rift. If it does then there's a chance I could absorb more zero matter. I could become solid permanently."

"We'd have to take you with us, " Peggy said. "That box isn't exactly portable."

"I had some thoughts about that," Howard said. "It would take some doing, but I think we could turn it into a suit. Something he could wear, like armor. Handy if it ends up permanent."

"That would be great," Wilkes said.

Peggy turned to Howard. "How long would it take to put together?"

"I could have it ready in a few hours, once I can get the materials I need."

Jarvis stood up. "I will go get my notepad."

Sousa held up his hands. "Wait, wait. Are we actually talking about doing this? Setting of an atomic bomb?"

"It would be a very small one," Howard said. 

"And if we make more zero matter?" Steve asked. "What the hell do we do with it?" He pointed at Howard. "No. Don't even ask."

"Plan A would be to have Dr. Wilkes absorb it," Amanda said. "Barring that. . . build a weapon to stop Frost."

"How do we know I won't turn into a monster?" Wilkes asked. "Like Whitney?"

"We don't know that," she admitted. "It is possible. It is possible it will kill you. It's also possible the experiment isn't repeatable and nothing will happen. It's a gamble."

"Whatever happens," Bucky said. "We'll handle it. It's better than Whitney getting it, and I don't think she'll stop until she does."

"It can't get to me," Steve said. "The zero matter. Whitney tried. Worst case, I should be able to kill you." He said it very solemnly.

"Doc, we should figure out why he's immune," Howard said. "Might help us stop her."

"Dr. Wilkes and I can brainstorm. I don't suppose any of Frost's blood sample survived?"

"No," Wilkes said. "But if you want to test it I can. . .call it up, I guess you'd call it."

"Right," Howard said. "Jarvis? Do you have your notepad?"

"At the ready, sir."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for discussions of infertility.

Stark Industries's test facility was a long drive east into the desert. Peggy had insisted on going. The bumpy roads jarring her still-healing insides made her deeply regret that decision for most of the drive.

Amanda was watching her knowingly. "How are your stitches?"

"Doing their job admirably," she replied tartly.

"Someday, all that will be left of you are the places I've stitched you together."

"Now I'm afraid to ask what you stitch me with."

"Teeny tiny bits of vibranium," she teased.

They hit a particularly large bump and Peggy winced. Steve reached over and lifted her into his arms, using them like shocks to absorb energy and make the motions smoother. His strength came in handy at the oddest times.

She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, darling."

At the edge of the property was a viewing booth—not much more than a shack, really, with a radio in it. Most of them got off there, Howard and Steve driving on to set up the bomb Howard had built. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the most dangerous thing we've ever done?" Bucky asked.

Peggy and Amanda exchanged looks. "Most likely."

The hope was that because they were in a different location, and the circumstances weren't the same, there would be no rift. They would simply deplete the uranium and be done with it. That was not, however, how it worked out.

There was a flash of the bomb, but no mushroom. The rift was black and ugly, pulsing and twisting in the sky. Peggy had seen the film, but witnessing it live was an entirely different matter.

It twisted and warped and Peggy felt a knot in her stomach as she wondered when it would close and what damage it would cause in the process.

"Do you hear it?" Wilkes asked softly.

Peggy turned her head. "Hear what?"

"There's a voice. It's calling to me."

"From the rift?" she asked. He was already in the process of taking off the containment suit Howard had built him. "Dr. Wilkes. I would not—"

Amanda reached out as if to stop him, but he was already dismantling the breast plate. The gloves came off next and then he just seemed to phase through the rest. Then he was walking towards the rift, heedless of their cries.

Steve reached for him, probably thinking his resistance to the stuff might somehow let him grab Wilkes. It didn't, so he just jogged after him. Getting that close to to the rift was _very_ dangerous, but that was Steve.

When Wilkes got within spitting distance of the rift it seemed to coalesce into an orb. Wilkes's feet lifted off the ground and Steve gave one last desperate grab at him before the scientist was sucked into the rift.

The orb began to pulse, and rocks and dirt in the vicinity started to lift. Steve took off back towards them at a dead run. The shack didn't seem like much protection, but it was all they had. So they huddled in there, Steve wrapped around her and Bucky doing his best to cover Amanda, and waited for the ground to stop rumbling.

Howard popped his head up first, probably because he didn't have anyone to look after. "It's gone." He squinted. "I think it spit Wilkes back out. Or. . . at least his body."

"Lovely," Amanda muttered. Bucky released her and she got to her feet. "Well. Let's go look."

Peggy sighed, leaning on Steve. "I've killed this man twice now."

"Hey, he went in there of his own free will."

"He said something was calling to him." She watched Amanda trudge out to the site, flanked by Howard and Bucky. "Just when I hope to have some answers we get more questions."

"I could feel something pulling on me," Steve said. "Physically. I admit I was actually. . .scared." She tried and failed to recall the last time she'd heard him admit to being scared of anything.

"Darling." She turned and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. "When all of this is done I think you and I have earned a nice, long vacation."

He kissed her temple. "Whatever would we do with ourselves?"

She tilted her head and smiled. "I imagine we could think of something."

"Peggy," he said suddenly, and she turned to follow his gaze. Dr. Wilkes looked very alive, trudging towards them with the aid of Bucky and Howard. Which seemed to indicate he was solid.

Well, the could finish the discussion later. They rushed to meet them. "Dr. Wilkes, how do you feel?"

He shook his head and seemed to sway on his feet. "A bit out of sorts."

"I need to get him back to the lab," Amanda said. "Run some tests. Possibly on all of us."

"The uranium is officially done? Whitney can't use it to make any more bombs?"

"Nothing left but a crater," Howard confirmed.

"Well," she said with a sigh. "At least now we've probably got time."

Steve nodded, then reached out to help Dr. Wilkes. "Let's get out of here."

*

Amanda's space in Howard's lab had slowly expanded, until she'd taken up nearly half. Probably a little more lately, since Howard had been at the movie set most of the week. She'd been analyzing blood samples and other test results from all of them. All she'd learned so far was Peggy was seriously anemic—not uncommon after that kind of blood loss, Dr. Wilkes was free of zero matter, and Steve was very, very slightly radioactive.

She assuming it was from the blast, and tested him again a week later to check if it had cleared. It hadn't. 

"Should I be worried about this?" he asked as she and Howard circled him with geiger counters.

"I haven't decided yet." She put down her counter - which hadn't pinged in the slightest, and leaned back to study him. "We did dozens of blood tests on you during the war, but nothing that would have tested for radioactivity so I have no baseline to compare this to. However, if it was from the blast I would expect the numbers to have at least gone down, and they haven't."

"You know," Howard said. "I think this might be from when you were. . . made." He waved his hand. "During your transformation we hosed you with an incredible amount of radiation. That's the part that caused you to grow so much."

"It would made sense. Though in that case I definitely wish we'd been testing it during the war. To compare numbers over years rather than weeks." She frowned and looked over at her table. "I'm going to rerun Peggy, James and my tests. We spend the most time with you. I want to make sure there's no transference."

"I suppose that explains why you put me in that coffin-thing," Steve said.

"Lead lined for the rest of us," Howard said. "And lead underwear for you."

Steve turned his head to follow him as he paced around. "I'm sorry, what?"

Howard gestured at him vaguely. "You know. To protect your bits."

Amanda rubbed a hand over her face. "Howard. Don't-"

Now Howard sounded alarmed. "Wait. Do not tell me they didn't—That was enough radiation to—"

"I _know_ ," Steve said sharply.

He turned on Amanda. "Did you know about this?"

"I was in a cage in Germany at the time," she said. "But Erskine knew, yes. It's complicated and none of your business."

"Nobody told me! How could nobody tell me. I wouldn't have agreed to that." Leave it to Howard to make it about himself.

"Yeah, they didn't tell me, either," Steve said, sounding angry enough she reached out to put a hand in front of him, as if she could somehow stop him if he decided to take a swing.

"Howard, please shut up," she said.

"Right. Sorry." He looked at Steve and gave a little nod before repeating, more sincerely, "Sorry."

"Yeah," he said, then looked over at Amanda. "Could you figure out if by being radioactive I have now also ruined Peggy's ability to have children?"

"Not at this level," Howard said. "I know you just told me to shut up, but I actually know the answer. I'd like to found a dynasty someday, so I keep tabs on these sorts of things."

"He's right," Amanda admitted. "I'd need to do some fairly invasive exams and even then I couldn't be sure without actually trying to impregnate her."

He rubbed his eyes. "Well, that's sure as shit not going to happen."

"I can do some more blood tests on her to check for any markers of radiation sickness. But I'd like to get a couple days of steak and leafy greens into her first."

"I need to talk to her," he said. "I don't need her hearing it from Howard."

"Hey, I can keep a secret," he replied.

Amanda tamped down on her incredulity that he hadn't told her yet and managed a very professional, "If she has any questions you know where to find me."

He gave a single nod, then turned and walked out. There was a moment of silence, then Howard said, "They get nothing of the serum research." He turned and looked at her. "The government comes for it, you burn that building to the ground first."

"Oh, don't worry. I've spent a good part of the last few years keeping that knowledge out of the wrong hands. I'm perfectly willing to go the distance."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I should have checked. The day of the procedure, I should have checked."

She reached out and patted his arm. "There was no reason for you to know what they were up to."

He paced back to his table. "Does give me an idea. Maybe the radiation is what repels the zero matter."

"It would make sense." Steve's resistance to the zero matter straddled their specialties so they had both been working on the problem, with help from Wilkes. "Which would mean James isn't immune."

"Yes. Though there's no way to be sure without experimentation."

"I don't see James signing up for that." He seemed to be getting distracted with something on his table so she turned to go dig her blood samples out of storage. 

"Why didn't you guys zap him?" he asked as he began writing on his chalkboard.

"The serums given to James and the other men in his company were prototypes. Experimental. Zola was still trying to zero in on Erskine's formula. Had Steve not rescued him I imagine radiation was next. Though they would probably have taken pains to protect his reproductive organs." She lined up the vials on her table and smiled. There was enough left in the samples to do her next level of testing. She really hadn't looked forward to explaining why she needed them.

"What if we built something that would hose Whitney with the same kind of radiation? Might knock the zero matter out of her."

Amanda considered it as she portioned out the blood samples with a pipette. "We will need more containment units. Several, preferably. But with Dr. Wilkes solid that will likely go even faster."

"I'll see what I can cook up," he said.

They worked in companionable silence for a while. Eventually, Howard turned on the radio and they listened to jazz and big band as he sketched out plans and she ran the centrifuge.

James and Peggy's blood came back just about perfect, no signs of radiation poisoning. She was sure Steve would be happy. Hers, however, had some anomalies. Nothing that suggested radiation poisoning, fortunately. But her blood chemistry was all out of whack. She sat there frowning at the results while Howard rummaged through his equipment, muttering to himself. It took far to long for a logical answer to come to her. And even then her brain seemed to have a hard time wrapping itself around the idea.

"Howard," she said slowly. The clanging on the other side of the room paused. "Would you be interested in helping me make a chemical?"

*

Steve went upstairs, wandering the house until he found Peggy out on one of the terraces, filling out paperwork of some sort. He leaned against the doorway, just watching her. He _had_ to tell her. He just had no idea how.

She glanced up from her papers and smiled when she saw him. It faded quickly when she registered his expression. "Darling, what's wrong?"

"There's something I need to talk to you about." He squinted out at Howard's grounds. "I don't know how private this is here."

"Do you want to go back to our room?" she asked, already gathering up her things.

"Might be a good idea." He could hear his own voice, sounding like they were discussing tactical plans. But it was all he could manage.

He helped her carry her papers back inside and up to their room. After closing the door she sat on the bed and watched him expectantly. He leaned against the door and tipped his head back. "Amanda got the rest of the files about Project Rebirth. The redacted parts. As it turns out, there were side effects no one mentioned."

"Side effects." She sounded worried and cautious and angry, all at the same time. Which was a lot to put into three syllables, but Peggy managed. "What sort of side effects?"

He closed his eyes. He needed to just say it. The details could come after. "Seems I can't have children.".

There was a long stretch of silence. He counted heartbeats and listened to her breathing, which had gone fast and shallow. Then, very quietly, "Oh Steve." He opened his eyes to see her struggling to get up.

He went over and sat next to her so she wouldn't have to. "Yeah," he said quietly, because what could he say?

She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his hair. "I'm so sorry, darling. I had no idea."

"I know." He hugged her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Erskine knew, as far as I can tell, but it was a decision he protested. Howard knew about the side effect—it was the radiation—and gave them specific instructions to prevent it, which were ignored. Apparently the brass was concerned I'd litter Europe with super-powered bastards."

"Oh of course they were." The utter derision in her voice made him feel a little better. "You've known a while, haven't you? That's why you've been a bit short tempered."

"Yes, I. . ." He had to clear his throat to keep his voice steady. "I couldn't figure out how to tell you."

She rubbed his back in small circles. "You didn't have to carry it alone," she chided, her own voice a little tight. She took a deep breath and squeezed him. "It will take time to process it. To mourn."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He wished they'd told him. He'd probably still have agreed if they'd given him the choice. But she deserved to know what she was getting into before she was stuck with him.

"Darling." She leaned back to look at him. Her eyes were red rimmed and wet but she mustered up a shaky smile for him. "I love you. And contrary to popular belief I did not marry you for your breeding stock. I'm sad. And I'm furious at what they did to you. But I don't blame you. You have nothing to apologize for."

He wiped a tear off her cheek. He really didn't deserve her. "I wasn't going to cry," he told her. "But if _you_ are going to cry. . ."

"We can both take it to our graves," she said, kissing his cheek. "A good marriage is based in mutually assured destruction pacts such as this."

"I love you," he said quietly. "So much."

"I love you, too. We will get through this. And we will be stronger for it."

They held each other for a while. They both cried a little. "You know, I think it's the 'why' that angers me the most," he said eventually.

"Yes, there were easier, far less permanent ways of dealing with that." She shook her head. "I never liked how much control they wanted over the program. They had images of whole platoons of super soldiers and Erskine never promise them that."

"There wasn't a need to deal with it at all. I was a virgin until I was almost 25, and then there was one horrendous mistake, and then the woman I married. And I didn't exactly chase you. I don't think I've even kissed more than four women on the mouth." Now that the awful conversation he'd been dreading had happened, anger seemed to be working it's way through. 

"You weren't chasing me?" she teased. "I'm wounded."

"I was a little scared of you. You tried to shoot me."

"But you brought me that flag. I assumed that was a declaration of intent."

"You were way out of my league."

"Well, darling, I'm out of everyone's league." She kissed his cheek and leaned on his arm. "I still liked you. Even back then."

"I think I might have had an asthma attack and died if we actually tried to do something."

She laughed softly. "Oh, I wish you were kidding."

He sighed heavily. "But we could have had children."

"We can still have children." She looked up at him. "When we're ready. When we've mourned this thing that was done to you. It occurs to me that there are likely quite a few children in orphanages who would be thrilled to have Captain America as their father."

That made him smile a little. "You process things quickly, don't you?"

"I like to solve problems. I like making plans." She rested her chin on his shoulder. "Biology doesn't dictate family. Bucky is no less a brother to you because you don't share a parent. Am I sad our babies won't have your hair and my nose and twice the stubbornness of any child ever born? Yes, of course. But I will not let the decision of a bunch of faceless generals or whomever dictate whether or not we have a house full of children."

He felt tears sting his eyes and he closed them. All he managed to do was nod. And wonder what the hell he'd done to be worthy of this woman. Peggy gave him a tight squeeze. "Lay down with me for a bit."

He shifted them, stretching out on the bed while she curled up next to him. He nuzzled her hair. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, darling." She pressed close to him. "I love you."

"We'll be okay," he whispered, with more conviction than he felt at the moment.

"Yes, we will." She, at least, sounded confident. "Together."


	13. Chapter 13

Amanda had been very busy in the lab all week, so Bucky was kind of at loose ends. He convinced Morita to stay for a couple of days, during which they drank beer and told old war stories. Mostly, though, he hung around. 

"There are 18 portraits of Howard Stark in this house," he announced to her one afternoon when he came down to the lab with lunch. Howard wasn't there, so he couldn't mock him.

"I believe he is hoping one of them will start aging while he stays eternally young." She was watching a test tube rather intently.

"I absolutely believe that," he replied. "Find something interesting?"

She glanced at her watch. "I'll know in three more minutes." She glanced over at him. "Did I tell you Steve is radioactive?"

"No. That. . . doesn't sound like a good thing."

"Well, it's harmless now. Just residuals from his original procedure. But we think it's why the zero matter doesn't effect him."

"I take it you don't think I'm immune?"

"It doesn't look like it. You weren't exposed to radiation the way Steve was." He gaze wandered back to experiment. "Thankfully."

He couldn't read her mood, but it was very odd. "Did it hurt him?"

"The initial procedure?" She was silent a moment. "Yes, I imagine it would have hurt a great deal."

"No, I know that. I mean the radiation. You were thankful I didn't get any. I assume that means it did something bad."

"Oh. Yes. But -" She broke off, blowing out a breath. Bucky looked over at the test tube and saw the liquid inside it had changed colors.

"Does that mean something?" he asked. She nodded, still staring at it. "What does it mean?"

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "It means I'm pregnant."

He stared at her a moment. "What?"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated. Yep, it sounded the same the second time. "I noticed something odd in my blood work when I was running the post-bomb tests. So I had Howard help me make the chemical that would test for it."

"We're having a baby?" he asked again, just to confirm.

She laughed, then covered her mouth with a hand. "Yes."

"Oh my god," he breathed. Then he laughed, too, and reached for her. "Manda." She hopped off her stool and he caught her, swinging her around in a circle while they both laughed. When he set her down, he asked. "Is this--I mean are you okay? Are you happy?"

"I'm very happy," she assured him, holding his hands. "Babies are good."

"I know you were worried about your career."

She sighed. "I am. But I'll have time to set up the division at Stark. And who knows? Once the children are in school I could get back into it. Science moves forward, it won't run out."

It upset him how sad she sounded, for just a moment. "We'll figure it out."

"Yes." She smiled and squeezed his hands. "We're having a baby."

He was grinning so wide his face hurt. "I adore you."

She kissed him, cupping his face in her hands. When she leaned back she looked serious. "When you tell Steve you should do it in private."

He shook his head. "I know they've been squabbling over this subject, but I know Steve. He'll be happy for me."

"I believe he will. But it's more than them fighting over it." She paused, chewing her lip. "There were side effects to the radiation used on him."

"Yeah, he mentioned." Bucky frowned. That had been the night Steve beat the snot out of Hunt. Steve had been in about the worst mood he'd ever seen. He thought about the things radiation did, and then he stared at her. "No."

She nodded slowly. "It was something the higher ups ordered Erskine to do. To prevent little bastard super soldiers from littering Europe, or so they claimed. It was only after he refused to consider a breeding program. So I suppose of the two options it was the better. But he cannot have children." Her fingers tightened on his. "I'm only telling you because I know he and Peggy have talked. And because I know you wouldn't want to inadvertently hurt him with this news."

He really wanted to punch his way through some government offices right now. "They did it because they thought _Steve_ was going to fuck his way across Europe. Steve."

"Based on the dates of the letters, I don't believe they had a candidate confirmed, yet. From the stories Peggy and Steve have told the other men in boot camp with him weren't all prizes. Also, they wanted an army of soldiers, not just Steve."

He scrubbed his face. "Jesus."

"Yes. You are in good company being outraged at this." She gestured to the file box sitting in the corner. "I have all of the files with me. Howard and I have agreed the government will not see them again."

He nodded. "Good." He had no idea of a non-hurtful way to tell Steve. Particularly having been an accident, one that part of him was starting to quietly panic about, a little. Fatherhood was a big responsibility. "Hang on. Does that mean this is inheritable?"

"I have no idea." Amanda was nothing if not blunt. "They certainly seemed to think so. I have my doubts. But there's no way to be sure until it's born and observable."

"Is that okay? Will he or she. . . hurt you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. "I'm not sure. It's possible. I doubt it would be large enough to cause damage until late in the pregnancy, when the fetus runs out of room." With a wan smile, she added, "No one has every done this before. We're going to run into a lot of unknowns."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to turn you into a walking experiment."

"Don't apologize! Have you met me? This is a dream come true."

He laughed. "Right, right, of course."

Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him. "Everything will be just fine."

*

After a solid week of barely seeing Team Science, Amanda and Howard both made an appearance at breakfast and announced they had a plan.

Peggy waited for them to load up their plates of food and take their seats before pouncing. "What plan?"

"Howard has figured out how to repel the zero matter," Amanda said with a grand gesture at Howard.

"It doesn't involve another nuclear bomb, does it?" Steve asked.

"No," Howard replied. "But it does involve a fantastic amount of radiation."

Bucky slowly turned and looked at Amanda, a rather alarmed expression on his face. "You can't possibly—"

"Not now," she muttered, cutting him off. There was something odd about the exchange, and Peggy made a note to ask Amanda about that later.

Blithely ignoring them, Howard continued, "Doc figured out that Steve exudes a small amount of the gamma radiation used during Project Rebirth. It occurred to me that said radiation might be some of the reason Frost's powers don't work on him. So I tossed together something that'll shoot them out."

He paused to chew and Amanda picked up the thread. "There was enough of the matter left from the sample I got off of Frost for Howard to confirm his theory. It violently doesn't like radiation. We believe it we were able to 'shoot' Frost with the device, the Zero Matter would abandon her."

"And then what do we do with it?" Peggy asked. "We don't want it to end up in someone else." 

"We have containment units. Similar to the one built for Dr. Wilkes."

"It should draw it like a magnet," Howard added around a mouthful of food. "Like goes to like."

"Should," Steve echoed, skepticism in his voice.

"Nothing in science is certain until you try it."

"I know it sounds risky," Wilkes said. "But it's the best bet. And the three of us agree on it, which I can assure you is a feat."

That was actually a very valid point. Peggy sipped her coffee, considering it. "I suppose the problem now is getting Frost and your equipment in the same room."

Amanda clucked her tongue. "Outside would be better."

"Now I'm sorry we blew up the uranium," Steve said.

Peggy drummed her nails on the table. "We need to find something she might want. Perhaps we could make her believe we have the Zero Matter from Dr. Wilkes?"

"Why would she believe us?" Bucky asked.

She scowled. "She would not."

There was a moment of silence at the table. "How big is it going to be?" Steve asked. "This thing you're making?"

Howard tilted his head. "Currently? A small cannon. I could probably get it down to a movie camera."

"What's the range?" Bucky asked. "How far can it shoot?"

He looked over at Amanda and Wilkes. "It's at fifty feet now-"

"If you doubled up the conductor-" Amanda suggested.

"And narrowed the field," Wilkes continued.

"We'd need better shielding-"

"Only on the sides, you could actually go thinner on the front-"

"But it'd be too heavy-"

"We were discussing a trolley anyway-"

Howard turned back to them. "We could probably get it up to a hundred - hundred and fifty feet or so."

"None of that helps the containment issue," Peggy said. "I don't think you can discretely fling containment boxes at her from a nearby tree."

"No," Wilkes said thought fully. "But maybe we could bring her to the boxes." Everyone looked at him. "If we're luring her somewhere anyway, we could set up the containment devices ahead of time. Circle her with them."

"That would increase the likelihood of the Matter going to them," Amanda said. "If there was a line of them between her and us."

"If we could lure her I wouldn't have brought up sniping with the ray gun," Bucky said.

Peggy leaned back in her chair, the arguing making her head hurt and the wound in her side throb. "Build the gun. We'll hammer out the details while you do."

Howard nodded and wolfed down a few more bites of food before getting up and heading back for the basement. With a sigh, Wilkes scooped up his plate and followed.

"Not joining them?" Steve asked Amanda.

"Lord, no. I'm starving."

“So,” Bucky said. “Luring a crazy woman with superpowers into a semi-contained space. Ideas?”

"Does she know we already blew up the uranium?" Amanda asked. "Perhaps we could make he think we were transporting it somewhere. Lure her into taking it in transit.”

“Moving target makes me nervous,” Steve said. “Too many variables.”

"There must be something else she wants," Bucky said. "Something worth sticking her neck out for.”

“Maybe Howard could offer her a part in his movie.”

Peggy shook her head. “She knows we’re staying in his house, I think she’d be suspicious, don’t you?”

There was a moment of silence as they all thought. Well, some of them were thinking, Amanda seemed determined to eat her body weight in eggs and toast. Peggy couldn't recall ever seeing her eat like that, not even in the war when she was recovering from being a POW.

Before she could think of a polite way to inquire if she'd developed a tape worm, Amanda stopped and made a little noise. Bucky looked concerned. "Sick?"

She shook her head and sipped her tea. "No. Had a thought. There was an awful lot of people at the house she was holding me at.”

“You’re thinking we go to her?”

"I was thinking that with that many people odds were good we could find one to turn on her. She doesn't exactly strike me as the nicest boss.”

“Fear is a very powerful motivator,” Steve said. “That’s how the mafia keeps existing.”

"Then we bribe them." She waved a hand. "What is all Howard's money good for?”

Peggy tapped her fingers on the table. “This probably requires my skill set, and I have a hole in my side.” The pain made her irritated. The medication made her loopy. Either condition did not bode well for any kind of op.

"It will take a day or two to have the equipment ready," Amanda offered. "There is time to think of a plan.”

She looked at the three of them for a moment, and then had a thought. “What if we embraced being obvious. Send Daniel and Rose over to wave a badge around and ask ominous questions of the lunkheads at the door. They take the story back to their boss.”

“What’s the story?” Steve asked.

Peggy looked at Amanda. “That we didn’t blow up the uranium. That’s it’s here, in Howard’s lab.”

Her brows went up. "You want to lure her here?”

“Territory you know is the best place for an ambush.”

"We'll have to clear out the Jarvises," Bucky said. "And you," he added, gesturing at Amanda.

“Are you kidding?” Steve asked. “There may be gunfire, we’re not sending the doctor away. And at the moment she’s more useful than Peggy in a fight.”

Bucky almost visibly puffed up. "She's not fighting anyone."

Amanda rested a hand on his arm. "James, I will almost certainly need to help with the Zero Matter containment." He turned a glare on her that Peggy didn't understand and she sighed. After a glance upwards, Amanda turned to them and said, "I'm sorry, I wanted to wait a little longer before telling you. But I'm pregnant.”

You could feel the air leave the room. Peggy glanced over at Steve, who usually had _no_ poker face, but at the moment his was blank. Blank was probably the best she could hope for.

Bucky scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I know this is. . . shitty timing. On a number of levels.”

She realized then that they knew. They looked way too uncomfortable and upset to not know. Steve was still silent, and Peggy’s poker face was world class. “Babies are always good news, Congratulations.”

"Thank you," Amanda said quietly. Glancing at Steve, she folded her napkin gave Bucky an elbow in the side as she stood. He got to his feet without a word and let her usher him out of the room.

Silence stretched a moment, then Steve finally sighed. “Well, I’m an asshole.”

Peggy reached over and rubbed his hand. "You're not an asshole.”

He didn’t look at her. “I couldn’t say congratulations. I couldn’t even smile.”

"I know," she said softly. "I understand. And so do they." She should probably be upset that they both knew, but she supposed it made sense. Amanda was his doctor and Bucky was his best friend. "They were clearly trying not to hurt us.”

“I didn’t know he knew, she said she wouldn’t tell anyone. Though maybe Howard did.” He held up a hand before she could say anything. “Howard figured it out on his own. He knew what the radiation would do and gave them instructions to protect me. Which were deliberately ignored.”

She squeezed his hand, making a mental note to let Howard slide on the next two or three stupid things he did. "Maybe Amanda told him so he wouldn't immediately burst into the room and announce she was pregnant.”

“I should have told him. I just. . .” Steve shook his head. “I’m sorry, I know I’m not the only one grieving, and we have bigger things to worry about right now anyway.”

"It's all right." She tugged his hand until he looked at her. "It will hit us often and out of the blue for a while, I think. And it is possible to be worrying about multiple things at once. And to be happy for them while still being sad for us." She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. "I don't ever want you to think you have to be the strong one or hide what you're feeling. We're in this together.”

“I should be comforting you, not the other way around.”

She arched a brow. "Why? Because you're the man?”

“Because I’m the one who signed up for highly experimental medical procedures involving radiation and didn’t ask enough questions. Which you’re now stuck with. If you’d married someone else you could have children.”

Shifting closer, she stroked his hair out of his eyes. "I love you. I married _you_ , not some hypothetical man. For better or worse and sickness and health. You were lied to, or at the very least misled. If it was I who was unable to have children would you consider yourself stuck with me?”

“Of course not.” She could see him start to fight a smile, perhaps realizing how ridiculous he sounded. He sighed. “Maybe there are upsides. I know your biggest fear is that they’ll fire you for getting pregnant.”

She hadn't wanted to put that into words. But if there was an upside to this whole, awful mess, there it was. "It worried me, yes. I wouldn't trade that worry for what was done to you, of course.”

“I was just wondering if in that case maybe we could talk. . .sooner.”

"About adoption?" she asked.

He watched her a moment. “Yeah.”

She allowed herself a moment to ponder that, despite the fact it would probably make him nervous. She did want children, despite her worries about her career. "I think that when we get back to New York - after a nap, a meal and some quality time in bed - I think we should contact an adoption agency.”

He looked at her, and finally his smile went all the way to his eyes. “Thank you.”

"You're welcome. Very welcome." She leaned over and kissed him lightly. "I look forward to being a parent with you.”

Steve sat back and inhaled slowly, and she could see by the set of his shoulders that Cap took over. “First we have to build an ambush for a superpowered crazy lady.”

"Pfft." She waved a hand. "Compared to parenthood that will be a piece of cake."

*

After the awful awkwardness at the dining table Amanda enjoyed a lovely not-quite-a-fight with James regarding her staying to help with the containment. While she understood his concerns, the odds of him surviving this pregnancy would go down if he continued his posturing and ordering her around.

She escaped to the labs with Howard and Dr. Wilkes once James announced he was taking a walk. Her fellow scientists might not be the best conversationalists on the planet, but at least their needs and expectations were simple.

Eventually Howard said, “So I hear I’m going to be an uncle.”

With a sigh, she twisted to look at him. "Is the house bugged?”

“Not. . .the whole house.”

She stared a moment. "The bedrooms?”

“Of course not, what do you take me for? I have cameras on the grounds, entrances/exits and the stairs. I put them in after someone tried to kill Peggy inside my house. You might remember that.” 

She supposed that was rather unfair. Though sometimes with Howard she wasn't entirely sure where the line was. "It rings a bell. How did you know I was pregnant?”

“Mrs. Jarvis overheard you in the dining room. She told Jarvis, which I overheard.”

Well, that was the whole household, then. "Secrets never last long in this group." She turned back to her work. "Yes. You'll get to be an Uncle for the New Year, possibly Christmas, if I'm farther along than I think. I'm sorry it will ruin your plans for Stark BioChemical.”

“Well, obviously we’ll keep the baby away from the chemicals.” He looked at her. “Doc, don’t tell me you’re going to go home to cook and wash Barnes’ underwear. You’re the second smartest person I know.”

"I already cook and do the washing," she said. "Most of the time. Those are both tasks that can be done after work and on weekends. Babies, I'm reliably told, are a full time job.”

“Clearly you need staff. I’ll have Jarvis look into it.”

"Howard, I cannot afford staff. Not everyone is _you_.”

He looked consternated. “I’m going to start you at $45,000 a year. If you can’t afford staff on that we need to have a conversation about your math skills.”

It was extremely fortunate she wasn't handling anything fragile or combustable at the time or she would certainly have cause some sort of minor catastrophe. As it was she almost toppled her chair whirling to look at him. " _Howard_ you can't possibly be serious.”

He pointed at her. “Fine. Fifty. But that’s as high as I’ll go.”

Her jaw dropped open and she found herself speechless. With that sort of salary they could have as many kids as they wanted. She could have a nanny and a maid, to deal with all the laundry and incidental cleaning. She actually liked cooking, but someone to pitch in other than James - who made three dishes competently and perhaps five more poorly - would mean she could stay late when a project demanded. And she would have an employer who wouldn't fire her the moment she got pregnant, but would, in fact, throw more money at her to ensure she stayed.

Unable to think of any other response, she climbed off her chair, lurched forward and hugged him.

“I want you to know I’m not thinking any lecherous thoughts right now,” he told her. 

She patted his back. "Just this once, I would let you.”

“Now I’m concerned something is broken.” He did sound concerned. “Your bosoms are right there—they’re bigger, if you haven’t noticed—and I have no desire to see them.”

She laughed and let him go. "Perhaps you're maturing? Or now that I'm to be a mother I don't count?”

“Usually when I’ve been this long without a woman, old ladies and nuns start looking appealing. Real nuns, not sexy nuns.”

From the other end of the lab, Dr. Wilkes called, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, please stop there.”

"You're going to need to get used to Howard over-sharing if you're going to work for us," Amanda told him, happy the world was making sense again. "I know far too much.”

“Fair enough,” he replied. “You pay me half what you’re paying her and I’ll join your orgy.”

“Done,” he said without missing a beat. “The pay, not the orgy.”

Wilkes stared back. “Are you kidding me?”

“About the orgy? No. I did that once, it was during the war, and I don’t know why people keep bringing it up.”

“The _money_.”

“I don’t make jokes about money.” Howard waved his hand from Amanda to Wilkes and back. “Why are you both like this?”

Wilkes gave her an incredulous look and she sighed. "Because both of us make a fraction of what our white, male counterparts make and always have and - were it not for your largess - always would. I would almost certainly have gotten fired as soon as the SSR found out I was pregnant. Dr. Wilkes, I imagine, would have watched a series of less qualified, less intelligent men promoted over him simply because they have less melanin in their skin. That is the reality for those of us not born looking like you.”

Howard sighed. “I’m not in that ridiculous Arena Club because my ‘family name’ only as old as my parents’ trip through Ellis Island. I was born in a windowless tenement, destined for poverty, manual labor, and drinking myself to death by 45 just like Pops. Did some things I’m not proud of clawing my way out of that. But I’m not interested in using social bullshit as an excuse to pay someone less than their brain is worth. I’m well acquainted with how people look through you like you’re nothing.”

"And we both appreciate that. I am not trying to lecture you. But that outlook is vanishingly rare, even among other people who started out poor. I cannot claw my way out of my sex. Dr. Wilkes cannot claw his way out of his skin color. My family's name _was_ well known and impressive when I was growing up, which was the only reason I was able to get my medical training. I weep to think of all the women born brilliant and unable to do anything with it.”

“Find them and hire some.”

She exchanged another glance with Wilkes. "If you insist.”

“I do. Staff a division full of ‘undesirables’. We’ll make a million bucks and Hugh Jones will cry into his cornflakes.” 

"I find your terms acceptable.”

Howard went back to the containment unit he was building. Eventually he said, “The assumption that mom stays home with baby is the province of people with money, anyway. Poor women work and their kids turn out fine. As will yours.”

“My mother’s a teacher,” Wilkes piped up. “We should have a child care center. Like they had at factories during the war.”

"If we're going to hire women, that would be a huge draw," Amanda pointed out.

“I leave this in your capable hands,” Howard said.

She was probably going to have Jarvis and Ana help her with it - what did she know about day cares? - but that was still probably an improvement over Howard trying to do it. The pronouncement also seemed to be the end of the conversation as Howard bent back to his work. Now all she had to do was figure out how to tell James he was going to need to get used to not being the bread winner.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget I was posting a story? Feh, that doesn't sound like something I would do.

Steve and Peggy stayed up way too late, talking about the future, and strategizing the about the fight that would likely happen the next day. They slept in so late they were actually woken by Mrs. Jarvis knocking on the door, telling them breakfast was being served in the dining room. 

Everybody else was already eating. Stark was drinking coffee straight from the pot, which was sitting next to him. Sousa had come over, which Steve expected. Morita was there, again, which he had not expected.

“Hey. You’re back,” Steve said. He’d gone home a week ago.

“Nah. Been here all along. I was hiding in one of the unused wings.”

Peggy laughed, and then Stark said, “No, I could believe that. That guy knows how to hide from cameras, and there are plenty of rooms I’ve never been in.”

“ _I_ have been in every room,” Jarvis said.

"All at the same time?"

He paused the inclined his head. "No."

"I called him," Bucky said. "Figured we could use as many hands as possible.”

“I was denied my opportunity to punch someone on my last visit,” Morita said. “So I’m excited.”

Steve and Peggy got themselves some breakfast, and sat at the table. Amanda was telling them about her plans for Stark Biomedical, which they’d apparently decided would try not to hire white men. 

"And we'll have childcare on site, to help entice female employees."

"I get hiring input on the nannies," Howard mumbled around his toast.

Without missing a beat, Amanda retorted, "I was planning on populating it with taciturn, no-nonsense German women."

“Disappointing."

“If you’re going to hire them and not treat them like secretaries, that’s probably all the enticement most women need,” Peggy said.

“You’re making me wish I did something science-y with my life,” Morita said. “I’m tired of bagging groceries.”

Steve looked over at him. “You’re bagging groceries.”

He shrugged. “All I could find.”

“You’re a war hero.”

“ _You_ are a war hero. _I_ am a Jap.”

Amanda looked over at Howard, who looked as horrified as Steve felt. "I think you need a California office. Of something."

"I'm going to end up employing all of them, I just know it."

"I think Dum Dum is doing just fine," Morita offered.

“I may soon be out of a job,” Peggy said. “Depending on the mood Thompson and/or his overlords are in.”

"Do you know anything about chemistry?" Amanda asked brightly.

“Not really, no.”

“Maybe you could work security,” Howard said. “Corporate espionage? I _know_ you’re good at that.”

"Oh Howard," she said dryly. "You do know how to woo a girl.”

“I am completely sincere, you're an excellent spy.”

Steve saw her smile before she attempted to hide it from Howard. "Well, I will keep corporate espionage in mind as a last resort.”

“On that note,” Sousa said. “I’m going to go rile Whitney Frost.” He paused. “Someone come look for me if I don’t come back.”

"We will stage an epic rescue," Peggy promised him. "Good luck.”

There was a long debate about where to put the canon. Eventually they settled on Howard’s vault in the basement. It’s where the uranium rods had been stored when they had them. It was lead-lined, and so would contain the radiation. They just had to get Whitney downstairs without anyone getting killed. As the only person who could safely get within arms reach, that was Steve’s job. 

She would undoubtedly come with with some of those people she’d collected. Undoubtedly, they’d be armed. That was everyone else’s job.

Peggy and Howard convinced Jarvis to go with his wife and stay somewhere safe without having to resort to drugging him and tossing him into the back seat. Peggy visibly relaxed once they were on their way.

"Now I just need to start fretting that Daniel isn't back yet," she commented, glancing at her watch.

“A daring rescue might be fun,” Morita said. “Not that I’m rooting for that.”

Howard leapt up, said, “I almost forgot something!” and sprinted out of the room.

They all exchanged looked. "I'm almost afraid to know," Peggy said. She glanced over at Amanda. "Do you have any idea?"

"Could be a bomb, could be a new kind of tie clip. It's Howard, who knows?”

He was back a moment later with something that looked like an apron. He held it out to Amanda. “Just in case.”

She reached out and took it, making a little noise when he handed it over. "Am I to be the cook now?”

“It’s lined with lead, I don’t want your kid to have three eyes.” 

Her brows went up, but she nodded and slipped it on. "Thank you, Howard.”

“So. . . congratulations are in order?” Morita asked. 

"Yes," Amanda sighed. "I'm pregnant.”

“Huh,” he replied. “Congrats. Probably good you weren’t the one who got impaled.”

That surprised a laugh out of Steve. “Jesus, Jim.”

Amanda was smiling, though. "I have had my fill of stitching myself up.”

“It’s good,” Morita said seriously. “Babies. New life. We’re a group forged by violence and death. Creation instead of destruction is the best antidote.” Lest he leave that on a philosophical note, he then added, “And I’m glad someone someone is giving Dum Dum some competition, before he repopulates Boston in his image.”

Bucky turned a grin on Amanda who glared. "It is not a competition.”

“Is he having another one?” Steve asked. 

“Yep. He’ll have more than everyone put together, even counting Barnes.” Dernier and Monty had children, too, but they were older.

Steve felt Peggy put a hand on back and rub it in little circles. "Dum Dum never did anything small, did he?"

"Perhaps I should send his wife some literature," Amanda muttered. 

"I should have sent him home with some of the leftover condoms," Morita replied. “I assume you will be getting on the bandwagon eventually, too?” he asked Steve.

On his back, Peggy’s hand went still. He could feel her tense a little. And right then, Steve had a moment of clarity. He was not going to spend his life being ashamed, and he was not going to be a coward. So he nodded, and found himself saying, “We’re hoping to adopt a baby in the next year or so.”

There was a heartbeat of silence, then from his other side Bucky reached over and slapped him on the back. "Congratulations."

"Imagine being adopted by Captain America," Morita added. "You're gonna blow some kid's mind."

"Perhaps several kids," Peggy said, smiling at Steve. "Someone has to give the Dugans a run for their money.”

“And you claimed you weren’t going to fill all those bedrooms in your house,” Morita said.

Looking over at Peggy, he returned her smile. "Life is full of surprises.”

*

Ops that involved his wife always made Bucky nervous. Now that he had his unborn child to worry about, too, it was. . . very distracting. He needed his full concentration considering they were waiting for a legitimately crazy woman with supernatural powers to come for them.

Bucky was in a perch with his sniper rifle, so he had plenty of time to think.

She'd told him about Howard's offer. Once he'd managed to wrap his head around the number of zeroes he'd felt an old, familiar pang of. . . something. Not quite jealousy, not quite anger. Just a general unsettledness that he couldn't support his family. He loved Amanda's smarts and was glad - really truly in his heart glad - that she'd found someone who appreciated them. Even if it was Howard. But it just. . . nagged at him. It was hard, working with one arm, but he managed. With the money she'd bring in he wouldn't have to. But then, what would he do with himself? 

He blew out a breath. He needed to get over this. If Steve could man up and come to terms with the shit they'd done to him, Bucky could do the same. He had a brilliant wife that loved him. He was going to be a dad and they'd have money to raise him-or-her better than Bucky had ever dreamed of. His kid wasn't gonna have to put newspapers in his shoes or con the fish monger or get a job at ten. What more could he really ask for?

But he couldn’t shake it. It reminded him a little of the way he’d felt when he’d realized that he could fight enemies one-armed, but in no way could he tie his own shoes.

"We've got movement at the gate." Howard's voice came over the com system, surprisingly sharp and clear. Radios and speakers had come a long way since the war.

He could see the gate from his perch, and sure enough a car pulled up. A bunch of men in suits got out, and then there was Whitney Frost. He’d been afraid she wouldn’t come in person. "I got eyes on Frost," he told the rest of them. "She's got five guys with her."

"Are any of them a balding, reptilian looking man?" Amanda asked conversationally.

He doubled checked. "No."

“Darn."

“All right, everyone,” Steve said. “Here we go. Try to keep the corpses Howard has to deal with to a minimum.”

Bucky kept the little group in his sites as they made their way to the gate. Frost used some of the Zero matter to melt a hole in it and they filed through and made their way up the walk. He could have taken three of them out before anyone noticed, but waited patiently for Steve to make his appearance and distract Frost. 

He came out of the front door in his pajamas—Peggy had a flair for the psychological value of costuming, and Steve was supposed to look surprised. The men with her drew guns. Tommy Guns, like they thought they were Chicago gangsters. Guns like that were for men with little courage and absolutely no marksmanship skills. Bucky was as much a snob about rifles as he was about furniture.

Steve ducked back into the house to avoid the first volley. Bucky let them focus on him a moment before aiming at the one to Frost's right and taking his shot. He went down and Bucky put his next shot in the dirt near the next one's feet. His goal was chaos, to force Frost to peel off why the others were busy. Wouldn't do to wipe them out all at once.

Sure enough, the gunmen stopped their assault, scattering and looking around to find the shooter. He pinged one of them in the arm, just for fun.

On the other side of the yard, a prototype of Howard’s they’d jerry-rigged began shooting off small firecrackers, looking to the men in the yard a whole lot like grenades, being tossed by several people. Morita was firing them from behind the bushes, but they didn’t know that. Chaos achieved.

Steve peeked out to make sure Frost saw him, and turned and ran deeper into the house. Just like they planned, Frost followed. 

“What the fuck is that?” Morita yelled into the comm, and Bucky looked back down at the yard. . .where a large pink flamingo was now running around among the men with guns. One of the guys tried to shoot at it, which seemed to only make it angry, charging him.

"If they shoot Bernard I'm going to be really pissed," Howard said.

"Jarvis will throw them a parade," Peggy retorted.

“Rogers and Frost are in the basement,” Sousa said from where he was hiding in the lab. “She’s following him into the vault.”

Bucky listened with half an ear because he had the lawn to deal with. Over the comm he heard Howard say, “Smile for the camera.” Then he cursed, and cursed again. “No, it’s stuck! Yes, we tested it!” He could hear Steve yelling in the background.

Distraction time was over. He eyeballed the biggest one and shot him in the kneecap. Bucky leapt out of his tree. “Everybody on the ground or we start taking heads.” Amazingly, they all hit the deck (except the flamingo, who he might shoot later). He could see Morita coming out of the bushes. “You got em?”

He waved his gun. “Go.”

He took off for the house. The reception on his radio headset was poor, but he gathered the stupid canon wouldn’t go off and Steve, Howard and Sousa were now in the vault with said crazy, superpowered woman. Peggy was limping down the stairs as Bucky sprinted past, and he shouted, “Stay up here!”

He took the rickety stairs two at a time, leaping the last four. As he hit the ground, there was a boom and the whole house shuddered. He rounded the corder to see Howard and Sousa sitting on the floor in front of the closed vault door.

"What happened?" he snapped. "Where's Steve?”

Howard was staring at the vault. “It jammed and was overheating. He shoved us both out here and shut the door.”

Air rushed out of his lungs, like he'd been punched in the gut. Dimly, he heard Peggy make an awful noise. Blood roared in his ears, then he shook his head sharply. The two of them had survived way worse than that. This wasn't over. "'Manda, get down here," he snapped. Then he gestured at Howard with his gun. "Open it.”

“Doc, put your apron on,” Howard said as he pulled himself up. “Stand back, there could be a fireball.” 

In hindsight, later, Bucky would be impressed how the other man didn’t blink at standing in front of said fireball. Howard turned the tumblers, and pulled the door open. 

There was no fireball. Inside, there was a containment unit full of wriggling, pulsating zero matter, charred walls, and Steve, looking about like he had when they’d fished him out of the arctic—but very much alive. “I’m never going to hear the end of it about my damn hair and eyebrows, am I?”

*

"You're sure there's nothing else we can do for him?" Peggy asked as Amanda carefully changed Steve's bandages.

"He's already healed some of the more minor burns," the doctor replied, using the patient voice she usually reserved for Howard. "He's in no danger of infection. The IV is keeping him hydrated and he's capable of eating normally." She laid the last dressing across his chest and snapped her gloves off. "I'm guessing by this time tomorrow he'll look like has a bad sunburn.”

“Peggy,” he said. “I’m okay. Really.”

"You were in an explosion that obliterated the other person in the room." She looked back at Amanda. "Why is he healing more quickly than he did after the plane crash? Is the zero matter effecting him?"

Amanda muttered something in German but replied, "He was in the ice for hours before he received any treatment. Also, near as I can tell, he was actually on fire in the plane crash, the burns went farther into his dermis. The explosion burns are shallower." She placed a hand on her arm. "He's okay, Peggy. I promise. We won.”

“I was on fire back then,” Steve said quietly. He didn’t like talking about the crash, and rarely did so. “I was in a fire that involved burning fuel. That was a machete, this is a paper cut.”

Feeling guilty for bringing it up, Peggy sighed and nodded. "All right." She managed a smile and patted Amanda's hand. "All right. Thank you."

She nodded and looked at Steve. "Get some rest. I'll be back in a couple hours to check the IV and bring you more food.”

Downstairs the house was crawling with people. Daniel had called the office for some agents to deal with the men Whitney had brought with her. Several had left in ambulances. Amanda had even gone outside for a quick triage, but came back in quickly to finish with Steve.

Last Peggy heard, Vernon Masters himself had come to inspect the situation and snoop around. Peggy was happy to stay upstairs, supposedly too distraught by her wounded husband to come talk to him. She was pretty well certain she was out of a job at this point, anyway. Might as well let them blame whatever on her, so they didn’t fire Daniel and Rose and god knows who else.

The zero matter had absorbed all the radiation; Steve’s levels were lower than before. The SSR was being told it had blown up, along with the canon and Whitney herself. Jarvis had returned and he and Howard hid it on the property.

She remembered during the war, after their stunt flying Steve behind enemy lines, Col. Philips had told her he couldn’t touch Stark, because he was both rich and the Army’s number one weapons contractor. She could only hope that would protect them now.

“Sorry I scared you,” Steve said, now that they were alone.

She smiled and touched the bandage on his hand. "We seem to do that to each other. It's a habit we should probably break.”

“I’m happy to never be in a dangerous situation again. But this stuff is what you do, and you’re good at it. You should keep doing it.”

"That's the conundrum. I'm fairly certain I'm fired after all this mess. And I honestly don't know where to go from here." She paused, looking out the window. "I could become a private eye.”

“Kind of what you have been doing, already, really.”

She tilted her head. It was true, after a fashion. Most of what she did was tracking down leads, following clues. "I'll need to find some clients other than Howard. But cheating husbands will probably be less dangerous than world ending elements from another dimension.”

“Probably a lot more boring, though.”

"Safe is usually boring," she conceded.

He patted her leg. “We’ll go home, get our baby, and figure out something worthy for you to do.”

"Yes." Now was not the time to decide anything. She leaned over and kissed a spot on his forehead that looked mostly healed. "Amanda said you should rest. Do you want me to lie down with you?”

“Yeah,” he said, giving her hand a tug. “I really would.” 

She gave him another little peck and climbed into the bed beside him, settling back on the pillows. It was really far too early to be sleeping, but she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. It had been a frantic few days and she was more than happy to take the excuse to lay next to her husband.

Steve reached to pull a blanket around them both. “I love you more than anything, you know.”

"I know you do," she said, stroking his arm. "I love you too. More than anything." It had been an awful few moments, with him locked in the vault and her not knowing if she was to be a widow just as they were sorting themselves out.

“And Howard owes me something nice for saving his stupid life.”

"I'm sure he'll be happy to spoil you.”

He closed his eyes, and she could feel him relax. “We’ll be okay.”

"Yes, we will," she said firmly. And for the first time in far too long, she believed it.

There were still loose ends to the investigation that hadn’t been tied up, but that’s how these things went. It was never neat. The primary danger was done with, though, and for a moment the world was safe. They stayed in California another week, so both she and Steve could finish healing. 

She was going to miss the Jarvises, and Rose and Daniel. She was even going to miss Howard. But Peggy was very happy to be headed home. She, Bucky, Amanda and Dr. Wilkes flew to New York. Steve and Morita drove across the country hauling the container with the Zero Matter. Amanda didn’t trust Howard with it, and it would live in a vault beneath the highly secure Stark BioMedical building. Said security was Morita’s new job. Peggy could tell how happy Steve was to have one of the commandos moving nearby. 

It was so nice to be back home, even if the first day or two was spent dusting and clearing out the cobwebs. Bucky and Amanda did most of the work, since Peggy was still limited in her mobility. When the others arrived, Amanda got distracted with the work of starting up the new building. She convinced Howard to let her hire an assistant to help.

"She offered me the job," Peggy told Steve over dinner. "As a temporary position. But I told her I wasn't that bored yet. Fortunately, she understood.”

“Still haven’t heard anything from the SSR, eh?” Peggy was technically on medical leave, and there had been radio silence. She’d really have thought Thompson would relish in her firing.

"Not a thing. I think they're hoping I just forget to come in once I'm healed. Which, might be the best option. Slightly more dignified than whatever dressing down Thompson is planning.”

“He’ll probably call you Mrs. Rogers and inquire about your reproductive organs.”

"I'd say that's a fair bet." She sighed. "Maybe I should just quit. Cut the sword so it stops hanging over my head.”

“I don’t know. I think I’d scam the government for a paycheck as long as I could,” he teased. Then he sighed. “No, I agree. And honestly, there is something very rotten going on over there. From Thompson through Masters all the way up to the Secretary of War. Getting out is probably wise.”

So she wrote a letter of resignation. Two, actually. One professional and vague, the other cathartic and honest. She knew she couldn't actually hand Thompson a letter that included the phrase "misogynistic, narrow-minded, Neanderthals with their heads up their asses" but typing it out had felt good.

The next morning, she put on her favorite suit and her best hat and headed into the city to hand in the letter.

When she arrived, she found the entire office packing.

“Mrs. Rogers,” Thompson called from the doorway of his office. He was so bloody predictable. “How nice of you to drop by.”

"Yes, well my doctors are fairly certain I'm in no danger of opening my wound and bleeding all over the place." She arched a brow at the men moving boxes. "Seems like if I had waited a day I'd have missed you all.”

“The War Department has been reorganized,” he told her. “Merging with the Navy, new secretary, total overhaul. The SSR is being shut down.”

Well, if she hadn't decided to resign this would probably be quite the blow. "I suppose I'll just clean my desk, then.”

“Most people got reassignments, maybe you did.” He went back into his office and rifled through a box on his desk. “I myself am going to the FBI.” He came out with an envelope with her name written on it. He gave her a look that was actually sympathetic. “That is a very thin envelope, though.”

She took the envelope and the sympathy at face value. "I'm sure you'll do very well at the FBI. Congratulations.”

“Good luck,” he said, holding out his hand. “I mean that.”

"Thank you, Jack." She shook his hand and was pleased he didn't turn it into an act of dominance. "Best of luck to you, too.”

He gave a little nod, and went back to packing his office.

Peggy walked over to her desk. She'd made a point of not leaving much personal at work. There was a picture of Steve and a few nice pens. It would take her only a moment to pack them. So she took the time to sit, still a little gingerly, and open her letter.

It was a single sheet of paper—heavy, high end paper. Letter-pressed into the top left corner in blue ink was “The White House, Washington”. The note was neatly typed.

_You are hereby ordered to report Monday, September 8, 1947, to The National Security Council for Special Assignment._

Peggy stared at that for a full minute before reading the messy, handwritten note scrawled at the bottom. 

_Bring your husband round for supper. -H. Truman_


	15. Epilogue

_Six Months Later_

"And this is where we're working on artificial limbs." Amanda pushed the heavy door open with her hip and Jarvis scrambled to help her. He'd been doing that all day, clearly of the opinion a pregnant woman couldn't open a door or pick up a file on her own.

Howard glanced down the row of work tables, littered with fake body parts. "Just limbs?"

"Artificial organs are in the east wing," she replied in the tone she used when she didn't want him to know if she was kidding or not.

“That would be a heck of a thing, wouldn’t it? A mechanical heart.”

"A heart is just a pump," she said. "A kidney is just a filter. It's not outside the realm of possibility." The baby shifted restlessly and she let out a slow breath, rubbing her stomach.

"Dr. Barnes-" Jarvis began for the tenth time that day.

"It's fine," she told him. "There's only two more stops on the tour."

She took them downstairs to see the pharmaceutical wing, that was working with her serum research to improve vaccines and medications. "And on the other side of the lobby is the daycare," she finished, bringing them back to the main foyer. "And that is Stark BioMedical.”

“You’ve done great job, Doc,” Howard said. “I’m impressed.”

"Thank you." She was very proud of this little project of theirs. It had been a hard six months, but the results were worth it.

"Why don't you give Barnes and the Rogers a call? I'll take you all out on the town."

Rubbing her stomach again she smiled and shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but perhaps another time.”

“Come on, have a little fun before the little one emerges.”

"Unfortunately, it's probably too late for that. I'm in labor.”

“ _What?_ ” He and Jarvis said that in perfect unison.

"I've been having contractions all day." Another one came and she checked her watch as she breathed through it. "I should probably call James and head to the hospital.”

“It would be my privilege to drive you,” Jarvis said, sounding very sincere.

"You're not going to have it in the car are you?" Howard asked at almost the same time, causing Jarvis to shake his head.

"It would hardly be the worst bodily fluids your car has seen," she retorted, heading for the desk to call her husband.

“Well, not this particular car.”

"I'd be honored to christen it." She plucked up the phone on the front desk and dialed home.

He answered with, “Hi, is it time?”

"It is. Howard and Jarvis are here, they'll drive me to the hospital.”

She could hear him blow out a slow breath. “I will meet you there and try not to crash. Don’t let them take you back until I get there.”

"I promise. Be careful, _Liebling_.”

By the time she hung up, and turned back around, Howard had procured a wheelchair from. . .somewhere. “Jarvis went to get the car.”

"I am not using a wheelchair," she informed him, walking towards the main door. "Gravity is my friend.”

“You might fall!” Howard chased after her. Outside she saw Jarvis careen around a corner in a car it took her a moment to realize did not have wheels. It was the infamous Hovercar. Jarvis stopped it floating right on the sidewalk.

She crossed her arms, studying it. "You fixed the stabilizer calibration?”

“Of course I did. And I gave it a remote control, too.”

“That part he hasn’t fixed,” Jarvis called. He put the wheels down and ‘landed’ it. “I will drive you, Dr. Barnes.”

"Thank you, Jarvis." Howard ducked forward and opened the door for her and she eased herself inside. The contractions were definitely coming closer now. She probably should have cut the tour short a little earlier.

“Flying is faster,” Howard said, climbing in the back.

“And not yet legal on public roads,” Jarvis replied.

“We won’t be _on_ the road.”

"Driving will be fine," Amanda said firmly. "I am not a fan of flying in the best of circumstances.”

“This car doesn’t look anything like a metal tube of death,” Howard replied, but Jarvis was already pulling out into traffic, paying his boss no heed. He drove with a certain amount of controlled panic, which didn't make for the smoothest ride. They did make it to the hospital in record time, though.

Howard won the wheelchair argument there and the two of them wheeled her into labor and delivery as if the baby was already crowning.

James was waiting by the front desk, with Steve, both of them looking windblown. Like they’d piled themselves inadvisably on Steve’s motorcycle and sped over. Which they probably had.

He rushed to her side, stroking her hair back. "Hey. How you doin'?"

"The contractions are becoming rather intense," she told him through gritted teeth.

Whipping his head around he told the nurse, "She needs a room. _Now_.”

The nurse came around to take the handles of the wheelchair. “We’ll get you situated. The waiting room is down there,” she added to the men, pointing.

James hovered a moment and Amanda patted his hand. "It'll be okay. I'll see you later. With our baby.”

“We’ll take good care of your wife,” the nurse said. Steve reached out and put his hand on James’s arm. The nurses waited for him to step away before pushing Amanda forward through the heavy swinging doors.

Several hours later, she woke in a dim hospital room, sore and groggy from the medication they had given her. When she looked to the side she saw James sitting in a stiff backed chair, holding a tiny bundle. "Hello," she mumbled.

He grinned back at her. “Hi.” The baby had on a little blue cap, but he said anyway, “It’s a boy.”

"Ah," she said, reaching out. He stood and brought him closer, settling the baby in her arms. He was sleeping peacefully, but she could see James's chin and a tuft of dark hair sticking out from under the cap. "Hello _mein Sohn_.”

“Isn’t he beautiful?”

"He is," she agreed, feeling oddly choked up. "He needs a name.”

“I don’t want a James-the-third. God knows what he’ll be called.” He looked up at her. “What was your father’s name? I don’t know if you’ve ever said.”

Smirking, she looked up at him. "Because it was Adolph.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head, clearly trying not to laugh. “Ah.”

Looking back at the baby, she studied him a moment. "My mother's maiden name was Wolf. I know it's odd but. . . maybe Wolfgang?”

He grinned. “I like it.” He paused. “Maybe his middle name could be James.”

"Wolfgang James Barnes." She nodded and smiled. "Welcome to the world.”


End file.
